These Days
by SlayerKitty00
Summary: What the hell is going on here? She thought to herself. That’s when she really took in her surroundings. Her jaw dropped at she stared at familiar purple walls, child hood toys, and posters that belonged to a teen-aged girl. Sequel to Ties That Bind.
1. Bizarro World

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

A/N: As of 12-24-09, this story is in the process of being edited. Things have been removed, and new things have been added, but the plot is generally the same. If you love this story, you might want to re-read it. All the chapters of this story have been edited, and just need re-posted. If you've guessed what that means, good for you. For everyone else - YES, I'm finally going to finish the third fic, Last Sacred Blessing.

Yes, you read that right.

Everyone done having their heart attacks now?

Good, on with the fic. :)

* * *

**Chapter 1: Bizzaro World**

When Dawn opened her eyes, Buffy's worried gaze filled her vision. She placed a hand on her forehead and groaned, and peered at her.

"Dawn, are you ok?" Buffy asked her urgently. Dawn stared at her sister a moment, trying to get her blurry eyes into focus. There was something different about Buffy.

"Yeah, except for that fact there seems to be two of you." Dawn answered, rubbing her eyes. Boy did her head hurt.

"Hey! Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean you get to make fat jokes." Buffy defended herself. Dawn's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Buffy was pregnant?

"Buffy, what is going on?" She asked her sister, wincing at how loud her voice sounded. She nearly jumped a foot when Angel placed a hand on her head and smoothed her hair back. Dawn looked at him in shock, surprised to see him at her bedside.

"It's all right, Dawn." Angel comforted. "I think you're a little confused. Willow said that might be a side-effect of the spell." He told her.

"I'd say I'm more than a little confused here, Angel." Dawn replied. She sat up with a start as another thought occurred to her, and then grabbed at her head when it pounded. "Where's Connor?" She demanded, sounding panicked.

"Dawn, calm down." Buffy reassured her, placing hand on her arm. Dawn noticed that her sister was definitely pregnant. How had she missed that?

"Connor's in his room." Angel told Dawn, sounding surprised by her question.

"In his room?" Dawn echoed, feeling a little lost.

_What the hell is going on here?_ She thought to herself.

That's when she really took in her surroundings. Her jaw dropped at she stared at familiar purple walls, child hood toys, and posters that belonged to a teen-aged girl.

*

Connor wondered if Dawn was ok. He'd come home from his last class at UC Sunnydale to find Dawn passed out on the living room rug. The half- melted candle and smell of sage indicated that she had tried to do some kind of spell, and Willow had come over shortly after to confirm it. They said she would be fine, but Connor couldn't help worrying.

He sighed and ran a hand through his cropped locks. He'd cut it to just above his chin a few weeks ago, in a vain effort to stop Dawn from teasing him about it. Now she just teased him about being vain. Angel had told him that Dawn had been trying to do some kind of memory spell, and that she'd asked Willow for help. Apparently, Dawn was terrified she would flunk her midterms. Connor shivered. It was kind of ironic, given the date.

It was the day the whole world changed.

*

Buffy noticed her sister visibly pale. Concerned, she took her Dawn's hand.

"Look, why don't you rest for a bit, and I'll come up to check on you later?" Buffy said. Dawn nodded, her eyes wide. Buffy hugged her, and then eased up off the bed. Dawn relished the feel of her sister's arms. She was shocked when Angel leaned over and hugged her too. It wasn't until that Angel had released her, and taken Buffy downstairs and that Dawn realized something.

She sat straight up in the bed she'd slept in since before she could remember, gasping for air. She'd spent the whole conversation with Buffy and Angel noticing the differences in Buffy. She's been too confused to pay attention to Angel's differences all that much. A sound much like that of Angel's heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she clasped a hand over her mouth.

Angel was human.

*

Connor debated on whether or not he should go up and check on Dawn. Deciding against it, he settled back against his pillows, and tried not to dwell on his thoughts. He'd wait until everyone was asleep, and then he'd go check on her. After that, he'd do a quick patrol, and be back in time to get some sleep before class tomorrow.

He sighed, deciding to work on some of his homework. He skipped over the math assignment, deciding it could wait, and pulled his English lit assignment towards him. Connor thumbed through the book till he found the story he needed, and started reading. He threw the book down five minutes later. He couldn't concentrate without knowing what was going on with Dawn.

She had no idea how he felt about her. Ever since...he shook his head. It was better not to think about it.

*

Buffy and Angel found Willow waiting on them in the living room. The red head seemed less perky than usual, but Buffy chalked it up to her being worried about Dawn.

"Did you get Dawnie all settled in?" Willow asked as Angel helped Buffy into the armchair.

"Yeah." Buffy answered, getting comfortable. Angel took a seat on the couch, next to Willow. "She seemed really out of it, Wills. Are you sure she'll be ok?" Buffy wanted to know.

"She'll be fine." Willow replied. "Don't worry about it. The stress isn't good for you." She admonished Buffy.

"I'm fine, stop worrying." Buffy refuted, giving her friend a grin. She ran her hand over her belly, reveling in it for the millionth time. Angel caught her gaze, and they shared a special smile. Sometimes Buffy could hardly believe that they were expecting a baby, much less married. It all felt like a really good dream in those moments.

"We worry because we love you." Angel told Buffy.

"I keep telling you that everything is going to be fine." Buffy said. Angel just smiled at her again. She knew he would keep on worrying. He always did.

*

Dawn swung her legs over the side of her bed, and rose on unsteady feet. She had waited until Buffy and Angel had gone to bed and Willow had left, before going to see Connor. Of course, he hadn't come to see her, so she wasn't sure if he would have any clue as to what was going on. She could only hope that he would be able to help her, and that if he didn't know what was going on, they could figure it out together.

She shivered as the chill from the floor traveled up to the edge of the nightgown she was wearing. Dawn grabbed her robe and slipped it on, before going over to her bedroom door and opening it quietly. She stepped out into the hallway, registering her surroundings. She stopped to look at the pictures on the wall. They were just as she remembered them growing up, except for two things. There was a wedding photo of Buffy and Angel, with her and Connor in it as well. Next to it was an 8x10 of Connor in his graduation robe. Maybe he wouldn't be the Connor she needed.

Dawn sighed and kept going, wondering where his room would be. She hadn't wanted to ask, and get that look from Buffy again. The one that said Buffy thought she was a mental patient. Opening the door down the hall, the one that Dawn remembered as Buffy's room, she was surprised to find a half-finished nursery. Clearly, Xander was putting it together for them. The other door upstairs must be Buffy and Angel's room, which left one other place in this house for Connor to be.

The basement.

*

Just as Connor was getting ready to head upstairs to check on Dawn, he heard the door to the basement open. He quickly lay back down on his bed, and feigned sleep. If it was Buffy or Angel, he didn't want them knowing that he was still up, and planning to patrol that night. He was shocked when his senses informed him that it was Dawn.

He opened his eyes and sat up abruptly, startling her. She shrieked, and he reached out to place a hand over her mouth.

"Shh! Do you want to wake up my dad and Buffy?" Connor hissed, trying to determine if she'd done exactly that. Dawn shook her head, and they waited silently to see if Buffy or Angel were moving about upstairs. Connor finally released her.

"Sorry." Dawn apologized.

"It's ok. I didn't mean to startle you." Connor accepted. He looked at her, and noticed she seemed a little pale. "Are you all right? Dad said you got a good knock on the head from that spell you did earlier." He went on.

"I'm fine." She answered, trying not to show that she was still in pain. He gave her a look that said he knew she was lying. "My head hurts a little." Dawn admitted.

"You should have stayed in bed." Connor reprimanded her gently. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, and he silently wished that he could do it for her. He longed for them to have the kind of relationship where he would have no qualms about touching her. She'd made it abundantly clear that was never going to happen, so he was surprised she was even down here talking to him.

"I had to talk to you about something." Dawn began, wondering how to ask him all the things she needed to know.

"It couldn't wait until morning?" Connor asked her. Dawn shook her head, and then groaned. He got up and filled a glass with water from the sink in his bathroom. One of the nice things about his room was the personal bathroom Buffy and his dad had had installed for him.

"It really couldn't." Dawn replied in a tone that made him look at her sharply. She noticed the look, and began to feel hopeful. Maybe he did remember.

"Well, what is it? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Connor questioned her, happy that he could help her with something.

"I'm not sure, but I think so." Dawn answered him. She took a small sip of the water he'd just handed her, and watched him sit across from her as she replied.

"Is it your midterms?" He wanted to know. Dawn shook her head.

"No, it's nothing like that." She said.

"Then what is it?" Connor was frustrated. How could he help the girl if she wouldn't tell him what was wrong? Dawn took a deep breath. Here went nothing.

"When did my sister and your dad get married?" Dawn asked him. His jaw dropped a little.

"What do you mean?" He demanded. "Don't you remember?" Dawn shook her head, tearing up.

"I don't remember a lot of other things too." She said. It was pretty clear that he had no clue about the other life that he'd lead, and feigning memory loss seemed like a better idea then trying to explain how they'd gone portal diving and somehow altered their lives.

"Like what?" He was stunned. Dawn had lost her memories?

"What happened that night with Glory on the tower? When did Angel become human?" Dawn let the questions hang in the air for a second. "And that's just the top coat." She went on, tears falling from her eyes.

In that moment, Connor did something he'd been dreaming about since he'd come to town with Angel. He pulled her into his arms, and held her as she cried.


	2. Explanations

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Explanations**

Connor was stunned. That was the only word for what he was feeling at that particular moment. Dawn was in his arms, a place he'd dreamed about her being for years, and he couldn't think of one damned thing to say to her. Dawn's sobs settled into a quiet snuffling, and she met his gaze with embarrassment. She hastily wiped her face, and pulled back out of his embrace. His arms suddenly felt hollow as she leaned back into his couch.

"Can you tell me?" Dawn asked him. If she was going to get to the bottom of how she'd ended up in the Twilight Zone, then she needed to have all the info to survive in the world she was in.

"About Buffy and Dad?" He replied. She nodded, reaching for the glass of water he'd brought her a few minutes earlier. As she did, the shoulder of her robe slipped slightly, and Connor couldn't help but stare at the exposed flesh. Dawn either didn't notice or didn't care, he wasn't sure which. "Well, pretty much right after I returned from Quortoth, Dad and Cordy had this big showdown. There was this mystical pregnancy and some kind of God. Once Dad defeated her, he received this thing called a Shanshu. It made him human. By the time the leaves were falling Dad came back here, looking for a new direction in his life. Within couple of months, your sister and my dad were married." Connor gave her the short version. Things had gone differently this time. He and Angel had a great relationship, and he'd never fathered a baby with Cordelia – there was no way he was going to repeat his mistakes. He already knew how that life turned out.

"And the night with Glory and the tower?" Dawn questioned. She was desperate to know, but also terrified of what she might have done.

"From what I've been told, which isn't much, is that while the portal was opened, it was also closed without anyone dying. Only you know what really happened up there, and you aren't talking. Buffy made everyone quit asking you about it." Connor told her. She seemed to be processing the information.

"I wish I remembered." Dawn whispered.

"Well, that's what happens when you play with memory spells." He admonished her. While he wasn't afraid of magic, he didn't like it. Dawn glanced at him sharply, a weird look in her eye. "You know, this afternoon. The memory spell. Dad and Buffy freaking out." Connor went on. Her shoulders seemed to sag a little, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Right. The memory spell." Dawn echoed. She propped her chin up with her hand, and sighed.

*

Across town, Willow was tossing and turning in her bed. No matter what she did, or which was she turned, sleep was far from coming. She didn't know quite what it was, but all day she'd been plagued with this feeling that something was off. Really, she supposed, since early afternoon, when Buffy had called about Dawn. She flipped over again, careful not to wake the person sleeping next to her. It was bad enough she was still awake. Maybe she'd forgotten to do something.

Slinging the covers back, Willow slipped her feet into her slippers, and slid her robe on. Silently, she made her way out of the bedroom. She shut the door behind her and flipped the hall light on. Glancing in the second bedroom of her apartment, she saw nothing out of place. Willow continued toward the living room, double-checking the front door to make sure it was locked. It was. She sighed, resting her hand on the doorknob.

She just couldn't put her finger on what the problem was. Sighing again, she headed into the kitchen, and took a half-gallon of milk out of the fridge. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate would settle her nerves.

As she stirred the ingredients in her saucepan, and watched them come to a boil, an arm slipped around her waist from behind, and a kiss was planted on her neck. She smiled, stirring the hot chocolate mixture.

"I didn't mean to wake you." She said.

"You know I can't sleep in that bed without you." Lindsey drawled, leaning against the counter beside her. She smiled, and poured the hot chocolate into two mugs. He picked them up, and then settled themselves on the living room couch, her feet in his lap. "So why couldn't you sleep?" He asked, taking a sip.

"I've just felt off, you know, like something's not right?" Willow explained. She twisted her engagement ring, hoping to alleviate the anxiousness she was fighting. No luck.

"I'm sure it's nothing, babe." Lindsey said, reaching out to cover her hand with his. "You know how you get sometimes." Willow smiled back at him, feeling reassured for the moment.

He smiled at her, making her insides melt. After Tara's death, and going all black magic Willow, she never thought she'd love again. Lindsey had blown into town, and had come into the Magic Box a few times. While he'd flirted, and called her, she'd made it pretty clear that Tara was what she'd wanted. After Tara, and everything else, Lindsey had been there for her. Here they were a couple of years later, engaged. She wouldn't have believed it if it had been prophesied. They finished their hot chocolate in silence, just enjoying each other's company. "Think you can sleep now?" He wanted to know. Willow shrugged.

"Here's hoping." She said, getting up. Hand in hand, they headed back down the hall to the bedroom.

*

Connor stepped out of his bathroom, and flipped off the light. He opened his mouth to speak to Dawn, when he realized she'd fallen asleep on his couch. He went over and sat down next to her. They weren't really that close, he reflected. Of course, she'd been a little taken aback by his existence in the first place. Now that Buffy and his dad were married, he was technically her nephew, and fact which seemed to bother her to no end.

Dawn had been freaked about trying to explain his presence to her friends, and even though Buffy had come up with a pretty good cover story, Dawn was not satisfied. So she didn't explain him at all. She didn't bring her friends home, and she knew she didn't talk about him to her friends either. As far as Dawn was concerned, when she wasn't home, he didn't exist.

It was easy enough for her. He'd never gone to Sunnydale High, and the transcripts they'd used to get him into college had been forged. All his learning had been the result of strenuous tutorials with Willow. He had managed to get his GED, and have a graduation.

He sighed, staring at Dawn. He debated on waking her, but figured that since she looked so peaceful, he'd let her sleep. Connor reached out and scooped her up silently, and carried her over to his bed. He stiffened in shock as she snuggled into him, murmuring gently against his throat. Desire shot through him, and he hated himself.

Resisting the urge to crawl in with her, he settled for his couch, and flopped down on it. All thoughts of going out on patrol had been erased with Dawn's arrival, and now he was stuck brooding about her.

He supposed he'd been infatuated with this Dawn from the moment they'd met. They'd had a fiery confrontation, and it had ruined their relationship from day one. She'd pulled him aside, and in a rapid-fire manner, demanded to know how he'd appeared on the tower the night she'd been sacrificed by Glory. Wondered if he should have told her the truth haunted him still. That he and her future self had been doing a memory spell, and somehow they'd managed to actually go back in time through her memories. That because they'd dived into the portal, saving her life, they'd also altered reality. Hell, it'd sent him back to the moment he'd portaled out of Quortoth. He hadn't said any of that. Instead, he'd treated her like a head case, and he'd paid for it from that moment on.

Connor ran a hand through his hair. He'd been so sure she'd remember too, like he did. He couldn't figure out why she didn't. Just over two years had passed since he'd left Quortoth, and every year on this day, this very day, he prayed it would be the day that Dawn remembered everything. Most importantly, he wanted her to remember that she loved him. It seemed like it never going to happen, and now, she was losing memories of this life too. It couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?

His thoughts tormented him until he fell into an uneasy sleep.


	3. School Daze

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 3: School Daze**

Dawn woke up to the sound of someone calling her name. She blinked at met Connor's gaze.

"Connor?" She asked, her voice heavy with sleep and confusion.

"You need to get up for school, Dawn." He said, perching on the edge of the bed.

"School?" She repeated.

"You know. Big brick building with teachers and boring books?" Connor replied, a hint of sarcasm. He was trying not to stare at her. She even looked beautiful first thing in the morning. He paused as another thought struck him. "You do remember what school is, don't you?" He wanted to know, sounding serious. Dawn whacked him with a pillow in response, and they grinned at each other. She sat up and glanced at the clock, trying to ignore how his nearness was making her feel.

"Crap, I'm going to be late." She complained.

"Not if you hurry. Buffy already left and she said if you were late today, there was no way she would be able to save you from detention." Connor informed her. Dawn grimaced. Great, first bizarro world, and then detention in said bizarro world. "I'll tell you what…" Connor began. "You run up and get ready, I'll put some pop tarts in the toaster, and I'll drive you to school." He desperately hoped she'd take him up on his offer. He was tired of pretending he didn't exist.

"Okay, thanks." Dawn accepted, getting up. She walked quickly across the room and up the stairs. Connor stared after her until she was out of sight. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

*

Buffy leaned back in her chair. How she loved this chair. It was the perfect chair for a pregnant woman. It curved to her back in all the right places, and was tall enough that she could rest her head against it. It made her computer work a breeze. Her phone rang, and she snapped it up.

"Buffy Summers." She answered, still not tired of answering the phone that way. Truthfully, she loved her job. Granted, Principal Wood had hired her with no experience, and no education, but she'd proved herself in the almost year and a half that she'd been working there.

"Hey, Will." She went on, recognizing her friend's voice on the line. "Yeah, Dawn's fine, as far as I can tell. Running late for school as usual." Buffy paused, pushing a couple of buttons on her computer, and listening to Willow talk. "No, I don't think there have been any serious side effects. She'd have told me." She told her friend, frowning at the phone. "She would have told me, right?" Buffy asked Willow.

While Willow answered her, she clicked the mouse to print out a couple of reports, and then reached for a summons pass. "Wait, now you're forgetting stuff?" Buffy caught Willow's last comment, and grinned. Trying desperately not to laugh at her friend's groan of frustration, she finished filling out the summons pass. "Well, I'll talk to you later, ok? Say hey to Lindsey for me." Buffy said good-bye and hung up.

Buffy gestured for the student guidance worker to approach her. Once the student had entered the room, she handed him the pass.

"Deliver this as soon as the first period bell rings." She said. The student nodded, and left her office. Buffy leaned back in her chair a second time. Man, did she love this chair.

*

Dawn checked her hair one more time as she heard Connor honk. Dawn grabbed her books, double checked to make sure she had her class schedule, and raced out to Connor's jeep. It was dark blue, and Dawn was astonished that Buffy would have even agreed to by it in the first place. Angel must have given up something dear to win that argument.

They drove slowly through the streets of Sunnydale, making small talk, and before Dawn realized it, they were pulling up in front of Sunnydale High.

"Listen, if you want, I can pick you up after my last class." Connor told her, trying not to sound absolutely desperate to spend time with her.

"Sure, thanks." She replied, getting out of the jeep. Inwardly, she was ecstatic that Connor was paying her so much attention. Waving, Dawn headed inside.

As she walked down the crowded hall, glancing at her schedule for her locker number and combination, she heard a voice calling her name. Turning, she found Kit weaving her way through the crowd. Well, that hadn't changed, Dawn thought, meeting her friend with a grin.

"Hey Kit." Dawn greeted her.

"What's up, Summers?" Kit asked, falling in step. Dawn looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Nope, ignored as always.

"Not a whole lot." Dawn said, evasive. She spotted her locker number and made a beeline for it, Kit following. Once her locker door was open, she motioned for Kit to lean in. Whispering, Dawn told Kit that she'd lost part of her memory as a side effect of a spell, and it took everything she had to keep Kit from freaking out.

"You call that not a whole lot?" Kit hissed, trying not to attract attention.

"Look, it's no big deal." Dawn shrugged it off, but inside, she was dying to tell Kit the truth. This wasn't her world, and Kit was not the Kit she knew.

"How's Buffy taking it?" Kit asked, trying to look casual as Dawn looked through her books to see what she needed for first period.

"She doesn't know." Dawn tried to remain nonchalant. Not telling Buffy about the whole mess was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

"Dawn!"Kit nearly exclaimed.

"I don't want her to worry about me, with the baby and all. She doesn't need the stress." Dawn shoved a couple of books in her bag. "Promise me you won't tell." She demanded. Kit sighed.

"All right. I won't tell Buffy, and I'll help you cover, cause God knows you're going to need it." Kit finally agreed. Dawn smiled at her friend gratefully, and slammed her locker shut. The girls turned to go to class, and came face to face with the one person Dawn was hoping didn't exist in this reality.

"Well, now." Kirstie nearly drawled. "What have we here?" Kirstie moved in front of Dawn. "So freak, who was the hottie who dropped you off this morning?" She asked Dawn, her tone haughty.

"None of your business, Kirstie." Dawn replied, glaring at the girl.

"Ouch." Kirstie said sarcastically, giving Dawn a look that indicated the popular girl found talking to her demeaning. "Anyone that hot is my business." Kirstie went on, in a tone that implied Dawn was an idiot. Jealousy shot through Dawn. Connor was hers.

"In your dreams." Dawn told the girl, before she could stop herself.

"And what's that supposed to mean, freak?" Kirstie threatened.

"That unlike you, he has a brain." Dawn said, the sound of her voice like ice. "Come on, Kit, let's go." Kirstie stepped into her path a second time. Dawn regarded her with a look would have shaken the most intimidating vampire to the core. "Do you really want to fight me?"

Kirstie stared at them, flabbergasted, as they walked around her and down the hallway.

"You'll always be a freak, Summers!" She called after Dawn. Everyone in hearing distance turned to see what was going on. Dawn whirled around, causing Kirstie to visibly flinch.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." Dawn replied saucily, before turning back around and walking away.

*

"So basically, you're telling me that your sister is a worry-wort, and you feel like you're being smothered?" Buffy asked, staring at the student in front of her.

"Pretty much." Dawn said, playing with the frayed corner of one of her school books. Getting a summons to the guidance office in first period had been bad enough, but it was also a class she shared with Kirstie, so it had caused double the embarrassment.

"I'm don't mean to smother." Buffy apologized. Dawn smiled at her sister.

"I know that you're worried about me, Buffy." Dawn replied. "But you don't have to be. I'm done playing around with magic spells when Willow's not around. You need to spend your time thinking about your baby instead." She told Buffy. The blond smiled in response, and patted her swelling belly.

"You know that I worry about you no matter what." Buffy said.

"Sure you do. But you don't have to stress out over it, ok?" Dawn scolded.

"Ok, as long as you're sure you're fine." Buffy agreed. They were silent for a moment.

"Actually, Buffy, since I'm here..." Dawn began. "Do you think it's possible that I could switch a couple of my classes?" She asked. Buffy looked concerned.

"Are you flunking, Dawn?" Buffy demanded, sounding agitated.

"No, nothing like that." Dawn answered. "There are just a couple of classes I'd like to take."

The rest of school that day passed in an uneventful blur. Dawn was relieved when she and Kit met up after her math class, and began the trek to her locker.

"Are you sure he won't care?" Kit asked for the tenth time.

"I'm sure." Dawn answered, tossing books into her book bag. She had a ton of homework. "Why the wig? It's just a ride home."

"It's just...I've never actually met Connor." Kit revealed. Dawn stared at her friend.

"What?" She nearly whispered. Kit squirmed uncomfortably.

"You two don't normally get along very well, and you never have friends over." Kit explained. Dawn slung her bag up on her shoulder and shut her locker. She was bothered by this information but didn't let it show. "I was shocked when I saw him drop you off this morning." Kit went on.

"He knows about the whole memory thing." Dawn replied as they headed toward Connor's jeep. She looked up and spotted something that made her nearly stop dead in her tracks. Kirstie was just in front of her, headed in the same direction. "Unbelievable." She spat, speeding up the pace towards Connor.

Dawn and Kit arrived just behind her, and Dawn prided herself on the fact that Kirstie hadn't heard them approach.

"Hi." Kirstie said, leaning on the door of the jeep. Connor panicked. He hated it when girls hit on him.

"Hi." He replied, trying to sound uninterested.

"I'm-"Kirstie began

"...A total bitch?" Dawn finished for the girl, gleefully interrupting. Kit's mouth dropped. Kirstie turned around and found herself face to face with Dawn. Connor was speechless. "Hey, Connor, I told Kit we'd take her home." Dawn said to him, pointing to her friend and ignoring Kirstie. Connor nodded, unable to remember how to make his mouth form words. Kit climbed up in the jeep as Dawn gave Kirstie another look, before brushing by her and getting in the jeep as well.

"Sorry, Kirstie." Dawn said as Connor started the jeep. "Guess you struck out."

The trio in the car was silent until Kit spoke up.

"Wow, Summers. I can't believe you told off Kirstie." Kit began. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..." She trailed off and sat back in the seat.

"I can't either." Connor agreed, finally speaking up.

"I guess this memory loss thing is kinda freeing." Dawn replied, not looking at them. The truth was that she was tired of taking crap from Kirstie. It ended now. Somehow the subject traveled to different topics, and they laughed and joked as Kit gave Connor directions to her house. Once Kit had been dropped off, Connor pulled out of the drive.

"Where to now?" Dawn asked, wondering if she'd made any plans for that night.

"The Magic Box. We go there every day after school." Connor said.


	4. The Magic Box

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Magic Box**

Dawn grew steadily nervous as Connor drove the jeep down familiar streets towards the Magic Box. After Willow had nearly ended the world in her time line, it had been shut down. Any thought of reopening it had been squelched by the appearance of the First. Connor pulled up to the front of the store, and put the jeep into park. He looked at Dawn out of the corner of his eye. She looked a little freaked.

Another thought struck Dawn as she was getting out of the jeep. The intensity of it caused her to stumble and if Connor hadn't come around to help her down in the first place, she'd have been face first on the pavement. As Connor held her in his arms after catching her mid fall, one thought reverberated through Dawn's mind. What if Anya was still alive? What if in this weird, alternate time line where Sunnydale was not destroyed in the final battle against the First, Anya didn't die? That would definitely explain why the Magic Box was open, and why they went there everyday after school.

Dawn was trembling, and Connor had no idea why. Going to the Magic Box was something they did every day. Angel helped Anya run the place, and Connor used the training room in the back to stay in fighting shape. Since his dad's Shanshu, Angel would help, but Connor could beat him up now, so it seemed a little unfair to use his dad as a punching bag. Dawn usually spent the time doing her homework until Buffy would arrive. Then Xander would show up, fresh from the construction site he was currently working on, and take Anya home. Their recent marriage had been a relief to everyone. Buffy and his dad would close up the shop, and the four of them would make their way home. Willow and Lindsey came for dinner several times a week, even though his dad and Lindsey didn't get along very well.

"What's wrong, Dawn?" Connor asked her, concerned by her extremely physical reaction. Trying to calm her shaking, Dawn stepped out of his embrace.

"It's nothing." Dawn replied, trying very hard to play it off like she was fine.

"It's obviously not 'nothing'." Connor disagreed.

"I said I was fine, Connor. Drop it." Dawn snapped at him. He watched as the brunette slung her backpack on her shoulder and stalked into the Magic Box like she owned the place. Technically, he supposed she did. He shook his head and followed.

When Connor entered the shop, Dawn was no where in sight. He spotted his dad, though, and walked over to him.

"Hey Dad." Connor greeted Angel, where the former vampire was shelving books. Angel smiled at him. "Where's Dawn?" He wanted to know, handing his father a book from the pile on the table.

"She disappeared into the back." Angel answered, setting the book on the shelf. "Is she feeling all right?" He asked.

"I think her stomach might be upset." Connor covered for Dawn's weird behavior.

"That explains why Anya thought she looked a little green." Angel replied. "All though, Anya's reason for her color was...well, you're not old enough to know." His dad went on, flashing him a grin. Connor smiled back, knowing how the former vengeance demon could be about certain topics. "How was your day?" Angel questioned his son, picking up the last book from the table and setting it in its place on the shelf.

"It was fine." Connor told him. "Dawn let me drop her off at school and pick her up." He continued. Angel just stared at him.

"Buffy's been trying to get her to do that for months." Angel said, clearly shocked. "She's not suffering from side effects after that spell yesterday, is she?" Even though Connor was sure his dad was joking, his bitterness at the way Dawn usually treated him spilled out.

"Because that's the only way she'd entertain spending any time with me, right Dad?" Connor snarled. Angel's face lost its smile.

"You know that's not what I meant, Connor." He reassured his son. Connor sighed, his anger ebbing slightly.

"I know." Connor admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna go check on her, ok?" Connor turned and walked away from Angel, who just stared after him.

*

Dawn hit the punching bag viciously, and followed it with an equally nasty kick. She hated this. It wasn't so much the changes, she supposed. She was actually pretty happy that Angel and Buffy had found someway to be together. Granted, she missed Spike. Dawn was planning on asking Connor what happened to him. She prayed that he was alive...well, undead, somewhere. She was happy that Anya was alive. She hoped that Xander had come to his senses and married her, but again Dawn would have to ask Connor. That's what this whole thing boiled down too. It was the not knowing.

It was so hard not to tell Connor the whole truth. That she remembered nothing from this life, starting from that day up on the tower. Was Tara still dead? Had Willow gone all black magic? Tears threatened to fall as Dawn hit the punching bag again. How could she ask about these things without giving her secret away? It would be really hard to pass some of these questions off as side effects of the spell. The spell she didn't even remember doing.

That was how Connor found her, hitting the punching bag with all she possessed, and tears flowing freely down her face. He moved to stop her, fearing that she would hurt herself. Startled and angry, Dawn turned on him the minute his hands touched hers. She struggled violently to get away from him, to hit him, but he held fast. After a few minutes of treating him as her punching bag, Dawn found herself in his arms for the second time that day, and the third time since last night, crying her eyes out.

"Shhh..." He soothed, as they sank to the floor. He rubbed her back with one hand, smoothed back her hair with the other. After a couple of seconds of crying, she pulled out of his embrace and wiped her eyes. "Feel better?" Connor wanted to know.

"A little." She smiled tentatively at him. "I didn't mean to go all psycho on you." Dawn apologized. Connor shrugged, and gave her a small smile.

"Just remind me never to piss you off, ok?" He told her. Dawn grinned, her tears forgotten for the moment, and nodded.

"Deal." She said, but then reality set back in and her smile faded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Connor asked, hesitating. He wasn't sure she would want to talk to him. Of course, since only he and Kit knew about her memory loss, her choice of talking partners was severely limited. She shrugged in reply. "Well, when you're ready, I'll be here." He told her, and stood up. He walked over to where he'd set his bag, and pulled out his bottle of water. Turning his back on her, he pulled his shirt up over his head. He was wearing a tank top underneath, but Dawn couldn't help staring at him.

He was...perfect. Muscled, but not in a gross kind of way. Connor bent to put his shirt in the bag, and as he stood up he nearly froze. He could feel Dawn's eyes on him, but the shocking part was that her heart was beating faster. He could hear it. Did that mean...could she really...Connor didn't even bother to finish the thought. Even though she'd lost part of her memories, Dawn would never feel anything more for than friendship.

"You're quiet." He observed, turning around to look at her. He took great satisfaction in that fact that he'd visibly startled her by talking. He began throwing light punches at the bag, and was surprised when Dawn came over to hold it still for him.

"Are we friends?" She asked, her voice so quiet that if he didn't have his nifty supernatural hearing, he would never have heard her over the sound of his hands hitting the bag. Crap, he thought. The secret is out. Now she'll go back to the way things were before, I just know it.

"Not exactly." Connor answered her.

"Do I even like you?" She wanted to know, not meeting his gaze. Connor stopped punching, and looked at her.

"My existence sort of cramps your style." He told her, not without a little bitterness in his tone.

"What?" Dawn gasped. How could she be like that?

"It's embarrassing and complicated trying to explain me to other people, so you don't explain me at all." Connor informed her, and he was surprised to see her look horrified.

"Goddess, Connor. I'm really sorry." Dawn apologized, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. He was so shocked at her apology that he almost missed what she said. Goddess. The Dawn he'd been living with the last couple of years never said Goddess. The Dawn he'd made a portal jump with had said it all the time. He squinted at Dawn, and she suddenly got self-conscious, letting go of his hand. "What? Do I have something on me?" She asked him, sounding panicked. He shook his head. It was probably nothing anyway. "Good." Dawn said, as Connor resumed hitting the punching bag. "Oh, by the way." She went on. "I kinda need another favor." He looked up at her.

"What kind of favor?" He wanted to know.

"I convinced Buffy to let me take Driver's Ed." Dawn answered him.

"Ok, but what does that have to do with me?" Connor asked her, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"I kinda told her that you'd help me practice, in your jeep." Dawn finished, waiting for his answer.

"We can start tomorrow." He told her. Her face lit up.

"Really?" Dawn couldn't believe it. Of course, she already knew how to drive. Unfortunately, in this reality, she lacked a license. She'd already scoured her purse looking for one.

"Really." Connor smiled at her enthusiasm. "...and all that other stuff earlier - it's forgiven." He said. Dawn's bright smile was his response.

*

When Buffy walked –

_Waddled_, she thought as she opened the front door to the Magic box – into the store that night, she was surprised at how calm it was. There were one or two customers looking around, but Anya was the only one on the sales floor. She heard some thumps from the training room, and she hoped that Connor was taking it easy on Angel, assuming he was back there with him. Glancing around, she headed to the counter to set down her bag, and then settled herself down in a chair. Truthfully, every since she'd gotten pregnant, it was harder and harder to get up in the morning, and by the end of the night, she was exhausted. Buffy watched through heavy-lidded eyes as Anya made her way over to her.

"Hi, Anya." Buffy greeted her.

"Back hurting?" Anya said, noticing Buffy's pained expression. She nodded in reply. "I've got an herb you can take to help with the pain." Anya offered.

"I'll have to check with my doctor." Buffy told her.

"It's on sale for $9.95 this week, so I'd ask him soon." Anya replied, the idea of giving her friend a bottle for free not even entering her mind.

"I'll do that." Buffy smiled at her friend. She felt someone drop a kiss on her forehead. Looking up, she met Angel's gaze.

"Hi." He said, reaching out and putting a hand on her swelling belly. Buffy's breathe caught in her throat as she watched the amazed look on his face. She scrunched up her face in confusion as a thought occurred to her.

"If you're out here, who's in the back training with Connor?" Buffy asked. Angel smiled, and kissed her before answering.

"Dawn." He told his wife, waiting for a reaction.

"Dawn?" Buffy repeated

"Yes. Dawn." Angel replied, before moving to help a customer. Buffy stared at the closed training room door in wonder.

*

Dawn groaned as she hit the training mat for the third time in ten minutes. Connor stood above her, smirking.

"How do you keep doing that?" Dawn demanded to know, taking the hand he held out. He helped her up, smirk still in place.

"I can show you." He offered. She nodded. "Look, stand like this." He instructed, moving into a stance. Dawn did as he asked. "Not quite." Connor corrected, and then put his hand on her thigh to move her leg forward. She tried not to inhale sharply at his closeness, but she knew with his abilities he'd be able to hear her heart beat speed up. Nothing she could do about that. "Better." He said, turning to so that he faced her. Connor went on with his instructions. "Now I'm going to move like this..." He began, placing his foot near hers. "Then you put your foot here." He moved her leg directly next to his, between his spread legs. Off balance by Connor suddenly shifting her, Dawn's other foot slipped on the training mat, and pair tumbled to the floor, a tangled mass of arms and legs.

Dawn burst into giggles as she hit the mat, Connor managing to brace himself with his arms so he didn't crush her. He laughed too.

"Ooops." Dawn looked sheepish as she stared up at his face. Before she could stop herself, Dawn reached up and moved a lock of his hair out of the corner of his eye. Her fingertips brushed against his forehead, and Connor closed his eyes. Leaning on his elbow, Connor covered her hand with his, pressing it against his cheek. He curled his fingers around her hand, and brought it slowly to his mouth. He placed a delicate kiss in her palm, and then opened his eyes to see her reaction.

Dawn was breathing heavily. This Connor clearly wanted her as much as the other Connor she'd known. Goddess, she wanted him just as much. She slid her free arm around his neck, wrapping her fingers in his hair. It was shorter, but there was still enough for her hand to get tangled in. Slowly she brought his face down to meet hers. Their lips were inches apart, with only the whispers of breathing between them. Their gazes were locked on each other as they tried to come to some kind of grips with their emotions. Just as their lips were about to touch, a loud sound from the doorway startled them.


	5. Indications

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Indications**

Dawn yawned widely as she sat up in bed. Even with all the problems that waking up in an alternate time line had caused her, she had to admit, it was nice that her house and Sunnydale remained intact. She really liked her bed. Glancing at the clock, she quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to see what was for breakfast. According to Connor, Angel could cook, and Dawn was itching to see the former vampire in action. That and she had a bet with Connor on how long Angel would go before burning something.

At the thought of Connor, Dawn's face flushed to a bright red. The scene from last night replayed in her mind. She and Connor tangled up on the training mats, a whisper away from kissing. Buffy had to go and faint, and ruin the perfect moment, Dawn thought. Checking her appearance in the full length mirror on her closet door, she allowed herself to think about Connor some more. She still loved him. Hell, they'd Romeo and Juliet'd themselves by declaring their love and then jumping to what they imagined was death. If only he remembered. If only...Dawn shook her head. It didn't do her any good to dwell on it. She could only do her best to rectify the situation. Meaning, she had to get Connor to fall in love with her again.

Dawn paused in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at Connor and Angel as they interacted.

"You're taking Dawn out driving tonight?" Angel repeated what his son had just told him. Connor nodded; stealing a piece of the ham his father had just finished chopping. Angel gave him a look before adding the ham to the omelet he was making, and Connor popped the piece in his mouth with a grin.

"Yeah. She's really itching to get started." Connor said.

"Remind me to call the insurance agent and get you a life insurance policy." Angel teased.

"Gee, thanks, Angel." Dawn commented from the doorway, startling the former vampire, and causing him to burn himself on the frying pan.

"Dawn, I..." Angel began, flustered. He walked quickly to the sink, and put his burned fingers in cold water. Dawn waved off his apology. He'd seen her sister drive, after all. It was only right that he had some concerns. Connor looked at her, and the pair exchanged an awkward smile. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk after leaving the Magic Box last night. Dawn grabbed a couple of plates, while Connor finished flipping the omelet Angel had been working on. Plus, he now owed her ten bucks, she thought, grinning wickedly.

Connor felt his pulse race when she smiled. He was glad his father was no longer a vampire, because if Angel knew how he really felt about Dawn, Connor would never hear the end of it. As he dished out the omelet onto plates, a thought struck him. Crap, he owed her ten bucks.

"How's Buffy doing?" Dawn asked, getting Angel's attention.

"She's feeling a little better, but Principal Wood and I convinced her to take the day off." Angel informed them.

"I never thought I'd see the day when my sister would faint." Dawn commented, referring to the previous night while taking a big bite of her omelet. Connor was right, she thought to herself. Angel could cook.

"Me either." Angel agreed, his face lined with worry.

"It's just not like her." Dawn went on. It was clear that Angel knew something more than he was telling either her or Connor, by the expression on his face, but whatever it was; he didn't seem inclined to spill. Dawn figured she'd let it go for now, but promised herself that she'd get some answers from Angel later. Popping the last bite of her toast in her mouth, she excused herself from the table and headed upstairs. Connor stared after her. Angel noticed his son's thousand- yard stare and commented.

"Dawn's been different around you the last couple of days." He said. Connor turned and looked at him sharply.

"So?" Connor replied. Angel struck a defensive pose.

"Hey, I'm just commenting." He told his son.

"Is it such a bad thing?" Connor wanted to know.

"No, I guess not." Angel admitted. "It just seems really sudden."

"Well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, Dad." Connor was angry. "If she's finally decided to accept me into her life, then I'm not going to screw it up by not trusting her. That's what you would do." He stormed out the front door. "Tell Dawn I'll be in the jeep." Connor called before slamming the door behind him. Angel sighed.

Dawn paused on the steps, unable to keep from hearing the argument between father and son. Tears came to her eyes. The other Dawn who'd lived in this time line must have been one grade- A bitch. She squared her shoulders and fought off the urge to cry. She would make it up to Connor. Resolved, she continued out to the jeep, calling a good-bye to Angel.

*

Willow knocked on Buffy's front door before letting herself inside.

"Hello?" She called. Angel appeared out of the kitchen.

"Willow, thanks for coming." Angel greeted her.

"No problem." Willow replied, hugging him hello. She glanced up at the stairs. "How is she?" She asked.

"Better, but still shaky." Angel answered, talking about Buffy. "She refuses to go and get checked out." He sounded frustrated.

"Well, I'd imagine she's embarrassed. I don't think she's ever fainted before." Willow offered.

"Which is all the more reason she should be looked at." Angel sighed, and slipped on his duster. They may live in California, but it was November after all.

"You know Buffy." Willow reminded him. Angel nodded.

"I know Buffy." He said. "Thanks for staying with her. Anya wouldn't let me off the hook. We've got inventory tomorrow." Angel told the redhead as she set her stuff down on the couch.

"You know I don't mind." Willow replied. "We'll watch girl-y movies and eat more ice cream than humanly possible." Angel grinned at her before heading out the front door. Willow took another look at the staircase and sighed.

*

When the last school bell rang, Dawn heaved a sigh of relief. Kirstie hadn't come near her all day, and for that she was immensely grateful. She said a quick good-bye to Kit, shoved her books into her backpack, and made a beeline for the parking lot. She paused in the doorway of the school, looking for his blue jeep. She spotted it, with Connor leaning against the hood. Her breathe caught in her throat as she stared at him. He hadn't seen her yet, so she was free to look.

The sunlight made him glow. Son of two vampires or not, he belonged right there in the light. Her heart seemed to have taken on a mind of its own, beating wildly. She loved this man. He finally spotted her, and met her gaze. Dry mouth set in as Dawn made her way out toward his jeep.

"Hey." She said, stopping front of him.

"Hey." He smiled. "You ready?" Connor jingled the keys.

"Sure." Dawn replied, a little breathless. Her hand reached out for the keys, and set them gently in her palm, cupping her hand between both of his. The look he gave her was intense and Dawn felt herself melting inside. In a minute, she'd be a puddle on the ground.

"Ah, look." A snotty voice spoke up behind them. No, please. Not now. Dawn begged internally. "The Freak has a crush." Kirstie announced to her friends, the most popular girls in school. Dawn froze, afraid to turn around. Kirstie moved to Connor's side and grabbed his arm, causing that hand to slip from Dawn's grasp. "So, Connor, is it?" He nodded to Kirstie's question, desperately thinking of a way to get rid of her. "I feel it's my solemn duty to inform you that you could do so much better than this freak here." Kirstie said, gesturing to Dawn. Connor's jaw tightened. No one insulted Dawn.

"Is that so?" Connor asked the popular girl. Dawn's eyes welled up with unshed tears. I won't let them see me cry. She thought stubbornly.

"You'd be much better off with, well, someone like me." Kirstie went on, batting her eyelashes seductively.

"Well, in that case." Connor replied. He and Dawn were still holding hands, and he used that advantage to tug her toward him. The movement practically shoved Kirstie out of the way, as Connor planted a kiss right on Dawn's shocked lips. They didn't hear Kirstie leave or the catcalls of Dawn's classmates as they checked out the kissing couple. All Dawn knew was that she was in Connor's arms, and it was the most right feeling in the whole world. Connor wasn't sure what was more shocking about the situation; the fact that he had initiated a kiss with Dawn or the fact that she was now kissing him back.

Gasping heavily, the pair broke apart. Connor let go of her hand, leaving the key ring resting gently in her palm.

"Let's get out here." He said climbing up into the passenger's seat. She took a second to pull herself together, and then climbed inside. After a second of letting Connor tell her what she needed to do, Dawn started the jeep and they drove off.

*

"Dawn should've been home by now." Buffy fretted. Angel, Willow and Lindsey turned to look at her. The two couples were sharing a relatively civil night in front of the television.

"I'm sure she's fine, Buffy." Willow said, idly playing with Lindsey's fingers.

"Dawn's a big girl." Lindsey chimed in. Buffy rolled her eyes. She was never sure what to make of the southern lawyer, but Wills loved him.

"She's out with Connor." Angel reminded her.

"What's up with that anyway?" Buffy worried on. "Three days ago she wanted nothing to do with him. It was all we could do to get her to acknowledge his presence at the dinner table. Now he's teaching her to drive?" She pointed out.

"It's what we wanted, Buffy." Angel reminded her. "It's good that they're getting along." He smoothed back her hair she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't be worrying about this stuff, Buffy. It's not good for the baby." Willow said, her concern for her friend showing.

"I know." Buffy sighed. "I just can't stop myself." She paused. "By the way, Will. Did you ever figure out what you forgot?" Buffy asked, wanting to redirect focus off of her.

"No." Willow answered, frowning. The feelings of something being wrong had only intensified.

The two couples settled back into relative silence as the tv droned on.

*

Dawn maneuvered the jeep through the streets of Sunnydale with ease. It was hard to see everything and not get teary. The last time Dawn had seen this section of the town, it had been just before Spike had sacrificed himself and caused the destruction of Sunnydale. The sun had set moments ago, and Dawn took off her sunglasses.

"Could you put these in my bag for me?" She asked Connor, holding them out. Neither of them had said much since leaving the school parking lot, save for Connor giving her driving instructions. She didn't really need his instructions, but he didn't need to know that. He took the glasses from her, and opened her pack to drop them in. As he did, he caught sight of her school books.

"When did you start taking Italian?" He wanted to know. The Dawn he knew couldn't translate a sentence in any language, even the required ones for school.

"Yesterday." Dawn answered, trying to be nonchalant.

"You don't speak Italian." Connor told her, sounding funny. He was again reminded of the Dawn he'd portal jumped with. She'd spoken Italian. Some anyway, because she and Buffy had lived in Rome.

"I thought I'd try something new." Dawn was nervous. It wasn't like this Connor to give her the third degree. She made a right, and pulled up into a grassy field. The edge of a forest was several yards away.

"Where are we?" He asked Dawn, accepting her answer for now.

"You've never been here?" Dawn seemed surprised when Connor shook his head. "It's Lookout Point." She told him.

"The make out spot?" Dawn nodded in reply.

"How come you've never been here?" She asked.

"I've never had a girlfriend to take up here." Connor answered.

"Oh." Dawn replied. The car was silent, save for the radio. "I got my first kiss here." She told him, resting her hands on the wheel.

"You remember that, but you can't remember other stuff?" Connor wanted to know, avoiding commenting on their earlier lip lock. He still had no idea what had come over him – he just couldn't stand for the girl to insult Dawn anymore. Dawn was unsure of how to reply.

"I remember that you owe me ten bucks." She finally said with a smile. He groaned. A slow melodic song came on the radio, and Dawn got an idea. Flipping on the headlights, she opened her car door.

"What are you doing?" Connor was confused.

"Come on." She grinned wickedly at him, and that was all it took. He got out of jeep too, and followed her to where she stood in the headlights. "Dance with me?" She asked, looking up at him. He didn't say anything, just pulled her into his arms. The notes of the song drifted out of the jeep windows as they danced in the night.


	6. Things Fall Apart

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Things Fall Apart**

Dawn leaned back on the hood of Connor's jeep, her head resting against the windshield. She and Connor had graduated from dancing in the headlights, to sitting on the jeep and talking about their childhoods. Connor was up front about his time in Quor-toth, and Dawn was relieved that he would talk with her about it. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, where he lay next to her on the hood.

"So after you and Angel came back into town, what did Spike do?" Dawn asked Connor. He was helping her fill in some of the missing blanks she supposedly had.

"He split, pretty much. I know that he and Dad have this love-hate relationship, and he couldn't handle it when Dad and Buffy got back together." Connor answered her.

"Do you know where he is now?" Dawn stared up at the night sky.

"No. Buffy said one of her contacts mentioned something about him heading to Africa, but that was awhile ago." Connor told her. There was small spark of hope then, that he would still be the same Spike she knew. At the very least, he would have a soul. Another thought hit her, and she almost fell off the jeep. Buffy and Spike had never slept together. He'd never tried to rape her sister. Dawn was so distracted by her train of thought that it took her a minute to realize that Connor had asked her a question and was now patiently waiting for her reply. Dawn blushed.

"I'm sorry, what?" She said, clearly embarrassed.

"You okay?" He wanted to know. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just distracted." Dawn told him. "What did you ask?"

"I wanted to know if you and Spike were close." Connor repeated. Spike was not someone they talked about at home, mostly because his Dad couldn't stand to hear that the platinum blonde vamp had been in love with his wife.

"We were, the year Mom died." Dawn answered, sounding wistful. "He was with me when I found out what I am."

"That was the year that you..." Connor began

"Yeah. That night with Glory on the tower." Dawn was quiet. They were silent, letting the night air wash over them.

*

Buffy paced worriedly, her friends watching as she made lap after lap around the room.

"I'm sure she's fine, Buffy." Xander tried to comfort his friend. He squeezed Anya's hand for support. The tiny blonde wasn't having any of it.

"She should've been home by now. Connor too." Buffy told her friends, arms wrapped protectively around her pregnant belly. "It's not just Dawn I'm worried about."

"Connor's pretty powerful. He can protect her." Lindsey pointed out, putting an arm around Willow.

"I need to do something." Buffy wrung her hands. "I can't just sit here."

"Buffy, you know you can't." Willow said, her voice soft. Tears welled in Buffy's eyes.

"I know, Will. I just feel so helpless." Buffy replied.

"We'll find them, Buffy, I promise." Angel said, coming in from the kitchen, his black trench coat swirling around him as he slipped in on. The three men said good-bye to their respective girls with kisses, and then headed out the door. Anya and Willow moved to stand next to Buffy as they watched them go.

*

The night wind blew, and Dawn's hair rippled across her face. Connor, who was lying so that he faced her, was entranced. He reached out, and captured the offending lock between his fingers, his eyes meeting hers.

"Today, when we...kissed...tell me you felt it too." Connor whispered, his gaze intense. Somehow, Dawn found her voice.

"You know I did." Dawn managed to answer.

"If I tell you something, you promise not to freak out on me?" Connor asked. She smiled.

"Nothing you say could make me do that." Dawn replied. Unless, of course, he was going to tell her he had suddenly developed feeling for Kirstie.

That would cause her to freak out all right.

"I think I've been in love with you since the day we met." Connor admitted. Dawn inhaled, but after that she seemed to forget how to breathe. Her mouth was parted in shock, her eye wide as she stared up at him. Survival instinct kicked in, and Dawn let out a noisy wheeze. Concerned, Connor stroked her cheek. "Well, say something." He urged. Please, dear God, be gentle.

"You love me?" She repeated, still coming to terms with it. Sure, in the other time line, Connor had declared his love. Here, things were different, and she was having a hard time realizing that changing the time line had not changed his feelings for her. "Oh, Goddess, Connor."

"Is that bad or good?" Connor tried to joke. He was getting a little worried. Granted, she was shocked, and hell, so was he, but he was now hoping he hadn't been wrong about trusting her. What if things went back to the way they were before Dawn had lost part of her memories?

"It's good. It's very good." Dawn said, smiling. She leaned up a little, and kissed him. "I love you too." She told him.

"Aw, isn't this cute?" Xander spoke up. The two teens looked up to see Angel, Xander and Lindsey standing near the jeep, angry expressions on their faces. Dawn visibly gulped, and Connor couldn't separate himself from Dawn fast enough.

"Uh, Dad. I can explain..." Connor began.

*

"I just don't know how the two of you could be so irresponsible!" Buffy cried out. Dawn and Connor both seemed to visibly shrink into the couch. Even though she was pregnant, Buffy was still pretty formidable.

"Buffy, calm down. It was nothing." Dawn tried to stop her sister's tirade.

"It was not 'nothing', Dawn." Buffy's tone was not pleasant. "You and Connor were out until late, doing God knows what up at Lookout Point!" The blonde shouted. "I'd say that's pretty far from nothing."

"I had Connor to protect me." Dawn replied, hoping that reminder would sway her sister somewhat. Nope, no such luck.

"I realize that Connor's pretty good in a fight, but from what I've been told, you two weren't exactly prepared for a sneak attack." Buffy pointed out. Dawn gulped. Crap, she was going to get a speech about the birds and the bees.

"You did the same thing when you were my age, and more, if I recall." Dawn's jibe hit home with Angel, who flinched. Buffy's mouth dropped open.

"That was a different time. I was supposed to be out late at night, patrolling the cemeteries." Buffy defended.

"And making out with your vampire boyfriend?" Dawn slyly interjected.

"It's not the same thing, and you know it." Buffy was close to exploding at this point. Angel laid a comforting hand on her arm.

"Maybe not, but I am your sister, and Connor is Angel's son. What makes you think we'd be any different?" Dawn's response was quiet. Buffy couldn't think up a reply, but there was no time, because Connor spoke instead.

"You aren't going to keep us from being together, are you?" Connor wanted to know. Buffy and Angel shared a look.

"Connor, you and Dawn are family. We can't keep you apart." Angel tried to reassure him.

"You know that's not what I meant, Dad." Connor said, reaching over and taking Dawn's hand in his.

"How did I miss this?" Buffy lamented, staring at her stepson holding her sister's hand. "Three days ago, you two wanted nothing to do with each other." The teens both shrugged in reply, but before anyone else could say anything, Buffy cried out and clutched her stomach.

*

Dread spread through Dawn like a disease as she stared at the squeaky clean hospital floor. She hated hospitals. Bad things happened to people here. She sighed, pushing her hair away from her face.

Connor's hand rested gently on Dawn's back. He got it, without her ever having to say a word. He knew what losing Buffy would do to her. What losing the baby would do to his father. Angel would not be able to handle the loss of another child. Guilt washed over him in waves. This was his fault. If Buffy lost her baby, his little brother or sister, then he would never be able to forgive himself. He glanced at his dad.

Angel hadn't moved since he'd made two rapid fire phone calls to Willow and Xander. He was almost stone like, for it was almost impossible to tell if he was breathing. None of them had really said anything since they'd sat down, and Angel was glad that neither Dawn nor Connor had tried to speak to him. His mind traveled back to the last time he'd been in this hospital, in this waiting room.

"_Please, someone help!"_

Angel winced as the memory hit him full force.

_Buffy's lifeless form draped in his arms, with blood running in two small streaks down the side of her neck. Her eyes, normally full of spark, were dim._

He shook his head, trying to dislodge the memory. It didn't do to dwell on things he couldn't change.

Xander, Willow, Anya and Lindsey arrived in a flurry of movement. They came to a halt in front of Dawn, Connor and Angel, who stood up.

"How's Buffy?" Willow gasped out, before anyone could say anything.

"They haven't told us anything." Connor answered when it was clear that Dawn and Angel weren't going to. Willow hugged Dawn, and then Angel. Xander settled for a very manly handshake with Angel, and hug for Dawn as well. Anya and Lindsey hung back. It was Lindsey's first actual crisis as a Scooby, and he wasn't quite sure how to behave. Anya had recently discovered that things tended to go better in situations like this if she was quiet, so she said nothing as she sat down next to Xander.

A doctor appeared, clothed in a trademark lab coat. He stopped before their group. Dawn felt her stomach drop. Call it intuition, call is psychic ability, call it whatever the bloody hell you wanted to call it, but she knew there was no way this was going to go well. Something was wrong with Buffy or the baby, or both. Her hand gripped Connor's as the doctor opened his mouth.

"Mr. Angel, I'm afraid the news isn't good." The doctor began. Dawn didn't stick around to hear any more than that. Her body grew a mind of its own, and before she knew it she was running. To where, she had no idea, as long as it was far away from the hospital, with it's too clean smell and bad memories.

Dawn wasn't sure how long she'd been running before she felt compelled to stop. Lack of oxygen and the intense grief weighing on her chest caused her to see stars. She doubled over, trying to catch her breath when she heard a voice call her name.

"Dawn!" Connor called, his tone worried. Tears came to her eyes, but Dawn fought them back. No, she couldn't deal with this right now. She started to run again, but this time her footsteps made noise on the pavement, and Connor heard them. "Dawn?" He called again. He caught sight of something fleeing in the shadows, and took off after it.

Dawn ran as fast as she knew how. The sound of her feet pounding the pavement rang in her ears, her gasps for air nearly in sync with the sound of blood rushing past her ears. She leapt over a small stone wall, into one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. She was so distraught, and intent on getting away from Connor that she didn't even register where she was going. It wasn't until she reached her destination that she realized where she was.

Connor came up behind her as she stopped suddenly. He watched as she stared at the crypt in front of her. Her chest was heaving, her cheeks wet with tears shed during her frantic run. She'd never looked more beautiful to him than in that moment of vulnerability. He didn't speak, waiting for her to make the first move.

Move she did. In one sudden motion, Dawn summoned all her strength and kicked the door to the crypt open. This action startled the two vamps inside, and Connor swore under his breath. Fabulous. Dawn looked at them, a slightly sheepish expression on her face.

"Oops."


	7. Forever Part Of Me

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Forever Part of Me**

Connor barely managed to shoot Dawn a worrisome glare before one of the vamps rose up and charged at them. The other vamp remained crouched over the meal that Dawn had interrupted. Connor tussled with the first vamp, whom he had dubbed vampire number one, for lack of better punning. Vampire number two was staring at Dawn, who was armed with only a stake. Before Dawn could blink, the second vamp charged her.

Exhausted and emotionally spent, Dawn was not much of a fight. She struggled valiantly against her foe, but he managed to subdue her by grasping her arms behind her back. This gave him prime access to her neck, which the vamp leaned in and took prime advantage of.

Time slowed down for Connor. His mind flashed back to another night, in another place, where he'd been forced to watch another girl he'd cared about get killed by a vampire. He clenched his jaw in anger.

Not this time.

Not again.

Connor punched his attacker several feet away, and jerked a stake out of his back pocket. In one smooth motion he whipped across the graveyard and into the back of the vamp that had his teeth in Dawn. The stake found its mark, and the vamp exploded. Dawn collapsed to the ground amid a cloud of dust. Connor was tackled and knocked sideways by vamp number one, now fully recovered, before he reached her.

As they rolled through the dewy grass, Connor managed to snag a stick. When the roll came to a stop, Connor was ready. He jammed his makeshift stake into the vamp's chest before the vamp had a chance to move. Connor got up and headed for Dawn.

She was laying face down on her stomach, and while he could still hear her heartbeat, panic shot through him. He rolled her over gently, causing her to moan. He took it as a good sign. Connor examined her neck, as Dawn's eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, and breathed his name.

"Connor..." She said, sounding every ounce of the disorientation she was feeling.

"I'm here.'' He gasped. Dawn raised a trembling hand to her neck and squinted at it when it came away coated in blood. She sighed. "We should get you to a hospital." Connor suggested, slipping his arms under her, and lifting her up. Cradled in his arms, Dawn managed to shake her head, groaning against the pain in her neck.

"Please, no." Dawn pleaded.

"Dawn, you could need a transfusion or stitches..." Connor protested.

"Buffy and Angel have enough to worry about with the baby. They don't need this on their shoulders too." Dawn cajoled.

"But..." Connor started to argue. Dawn placed a hand against his cheek.

"Just take me home." She urged, and he nodded after a few minutes.

"If you feel sick at all or anything out of the ordinary, I'm taking you to the hospital." Connor maintained.

"Deal." Dawn whispered, her head resting gently on his shoulder.

*

Angel dialed the familiar number a third time. He was getting a little anxious. Connor wasn't picking up, and he was worried that his son hadn't found Dawn yet. With Dawn's penchant for getting into trouble, Angel had every right to be concerned. The phone rang a second time, and an out-of-of breath male voice answered.

"Hello?" Connor said into the phone.

"Connor." Angel replied, relief in his voice. This night had already brought tumultuous news, so he was extremely glad that his son and Dawn had made it home all right.

"Hey, Dad." Connor greeted. "How's Buffy?" His son asked. It was all Angel could do to keep from letting everything spill out.

"As well as can be expected." Angel answered, the somber tone of his voice impossible to miss. "Is Dawn ok?'

"She'll be fine." Connor reassured his dad. Angel was glad that Dawn had someone to talk to in his son, even if their relationship had seemingly sprung from nowhere. He hung up after another minute, and stared at the wall with a blank expression.

The sound of a throat clearing got his attention. Angel looked up to see Buffy's doctor standing above him.

"Mr. Angel, you can see your wife now."

*

Connor dabbed at Dawn's neck wound gently, but when the peroxide drenched cotton ball touched her neck, she inhaled sharply.

"That stings." She hissed. He dabbed a couple more times, before grabbing a wet cloth and wiping the last of her spilled blood away.

"I'm sorry." Connor apologized. He blew gently on her neck, and Dawn's mouth went dry. "Better?" He asked when he was done. She managed a nod, unable to control her shiver.

"Cold?" Connor questioned, noticing her shiver.

"Not exactly." She replied, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I'll get you a blanket." Connor offered, starting to get up. Dawn put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'm not cold." She told him.

"Maybe you're in shock." He suggested, starting to get up for the second time. Dawn moved her hand from his arm to his face, and he met her gaze.

"Connor..." Dawn whispered. "I'm fine." She said with feeling. He nodded and began to carefully tape down gauze over her wound.

"There." He commented, patting the last of the tape gently into place. She smiled.

"Thanks." Dawn told him. As he started cleaning up, she spoke again. "Connor?" She got his attention. "How's Buffy?" Dawn started at her fingers, almost dreading his answer.

"They aren't saying much; just that it doesn't look too good for the baby right now." Connor answered.

"Oh." Dawn replied.

"Dawn, look at me." Connor urged. She looked up, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "It'll work out, ok?" He reassured. "It has to. The Powers That Be owe my dad this one."

*

Buffy's petite frame looked abnormally frail against the backdrop of her hospital bed. Angel stared at her, unable to fathom why this was happening to them. Wasn't it enough that they had suffered all those years ago? That this baby could be taken from them seemed almost cruel, he could only hope that this would be one test the Powers That Be not require him to take. He had learned long ago that to fight them was futile. They would do what they would do, what they considered to be the greater good. Angel never understood why that meant he had to pay for it. Sometimes in bloodshed, and sometimes, as in the case of Doyle, a life.

"Hey you."

The sound of his wife's voice spurred him out of his thoughts, and over to her bedside. He settled next to her on the bed, and took her hand in his.

"How are you?" Angel asked, his voice full of concern. Buffy smiled wanly.

"Pregnant." Buffy told him. He smiled back, but he knew that both of them were thinking the same thing. For how much longer?

He laid his head against her slightly swollen belly, and wrapped his arms around her middle. Buffy's arms snaked around his head. The two of them stayed that way, a desperate plea for them to be able to keep what was theirs, as if holding it there would help it remain.

*

Dawn settled back against her pillow. Connor had insisted that she move from the couch up to her room, even though she felt pretty good. She guessed she had more of her sister in her than she'd thought. Connor lay next to her, and she angled her head so that it rested against his chest. She inhaled deeply, enjoying his scent. He smelled of cologne and whatever one called the smell that men just seemed to exude. It was a good combination, and she sighed. He tightened his grip on her, his one arm wrapped around her shoulder.

She'd been nervous when he'd settled himself on the bed next to her, but realized seconds later that she shouldn't have been. She was injured and Connor was a perfect gentlemen. Case in point: While she was laying tucked under the covers in her nightgown, he was laying on top of the coves, fully clothed. He seemed hesitant to let her out of his sight, and given the fact that she'd actually run from him earlier this evening, she understood completely. Connor's voice startled her.

"What was so important about that crypt?" He asked randomly. He'd been curious about her reaction ever since he'd gotten her home. What would have possessed her to go there in the first place?

"It's where Spike used to live." Dawn answered quietly. Connor got it, sort of.

"When you asked about him, I told you that he'd left town. Why would you go there?" Connor wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. Habit, I guess." Dawn replied. She looked up at him. His expression indicated she should keep talking. Inhaling, she started to explain about her relationship with Spike. "When I was younger, Spike became kind of a role model for me." She began.

"A vampire?" Connor interrupted, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Sure, Angel was one thing with the soul and all, but a soulless vamp as a role model? He'd heard everything now.

"Yes." Dawn said, sounding testy. He shrugged, and gestured for her to continue. "When Mom was sick, and then after when she was gone...I would go and talk to him. He didn't treat me like a kid. He told me the truth about stuff, didn't sugar coat it because I was too young or I couldn't handle it." She continued. "Spike was with me when I found out what I am." Dawn whispered, briefly flashing back to that night.

"That's right, he was." Connor agreed. Dawn looked at him.

"How did you know that?" She questioned. Connor shrugged.

"Buffy or Angel must have told me." She nodded, accepting the answer. Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, explaining how he'd relieved her memories in another life through a spell that had led him to this life was complicated enough. Gee, thinking about it that way really made his head hurt.

"Anyway, whenever there was trouble, with Mom or Buffy, I'd go and see hi and he'd always find away to make me feel better." Dawn continued with her story. "I guess I just needed him to make me feel better tonight."

*

When Buffy tensed up and hissed in pain, Angel lifted his head from her stomach and met her gaze.

They both knew.

The time had come.

A lone tear slid down his cheek as he locked his fingers with hers. Her cheeks were also wet as together they traced a pattern over her slightly swollen belly, each saying a reverent good-bye to a child they would never know.


	8. Introspection

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Introspection**

Lindsey watched his intended pace back and forth across the waiting room floor. Her bright red hair bounced around her face as she moved, and ordinarily he would have been entranced by it, but not today. She was hurting, and there was nothing he could do about it. Granted, he and Angel were not the best of friends. At most, they held a grudging respect for each other. He wasn't sure if Angel deserved this. He hoped that one day his own retribution for evil deeds would be far less painful, far less demanding of him. It was selfish, and he knew it.

Lindsey knew that he hadn't always been the good guy, and it had taken a possessed hand to show him the light. He eyed his donated limb as he remembered. Willow had helped him, after they'd first met. He'd explained the situation one night at the Magic Box, and she was able to give him several ways to keep his hand's urges under control.

Angel hadn't always been a good guy either and he supposed that was what had led to the small amount of respect they granted each other. That and the influence of Buffy and Willow. The two women were so close, they were family. That meant that he and Angel had to play nice, put up with each other. Deep down, Lindsey would almost admit he liked the guy. After all, Angel had gotten his humanity just long enough to turn around and be faced with the possibility of losing another child. He was glad it was Angel and not him, as guilty as that made him feel.

Willow finally stopped her pacing, and settled next to Lindsey on the lumpy couch. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd sat in this waiting room, waiting for the diagnosis of one of her friends. Waiting to hear whether someone she loved had lived or died. In some cases, she hadn't even known the person, but had come across them on patrol with Buffy, and ended up with hospital detail. You'd think that the hospital staff would have a file with my name on it flagged or something, she thought wryly, for as often as she inhabited this waiting room. Alas, or maybe luckily, the hospital stuff of Sunnydale were about as naive as the police.

Sighing, she fiddled with her engagement ring. Willow remembered the night that Lindsey had proposed like it was yesterday. She knew that it would be something she would never forget. She'd come home from work, and the house had been dark, except for a few well placed candles. Lindsey had been standing in her living room, and she hadn't known what to make of the situation at first.

"_Lindsey? What's going on?" Willow asked, setting her stuff down on the sofa. He reached out and took her hand, smiling softly._

"_I got you something. Come sit down." He urged, pulling her to the armchair he was standing near. She sat, and stared up at him wordlessly. He seemed different. She couldn't put her finger on why. He handed her a nicely wrapped package, and she grinned._

"_Who helped you wrap it?" Willow teased, for some reason feeling nervous about opening it._

"_Hey!" He said indignantly, "I wrapped it myself." At her look of disbelief he grinned. "Fine. Dawn helped me. In fact, she helped me out with the actual present as well."_

_Now Willow was intrigued. She ran her hands over the package and met his gaze briefly before slowly tearing the wrapping paper at one end. She pulled off the paper to find a plain white box underneath, ones that clothes were usually wrapped in. Willow lifted the lid of the box, half holding her breath. She separated the ends of tissue paper and lifted a slightly heavy object out of the box. It was not was she expected, she thought, gasping out loud._

_It was a picture frame. More specifically, it was frame that held three 5x7 size photos. The frame was silver, and it glinted in the candlelight. It wasn't, however, the frame that had made her gasp. It was the pictures. One of herself and Oz, taken at the senior prom. They weren't even looking at the camera. She remembered how they'd stared intently into each other's eyes. The second photo was one that brought tears to her eyes. It was of her and Tara, dancing at Tara's twentieth birthday party._

_The third frame was empty, and Willow looked at Lindsey with questions in her eyes._

_He was kneeling before her, an open ring box in his outstretched hand. The diamond ring sparkled brightly._

"_You've been lucky. You've gotten to experience the kind of love that I had only dreamed of, and you've gotten to do it twice. I know that a big portion of who you are today is because of Oz and Tara, and what they meant to you. I could never begrudge you their memories, nor would I ask you to forget them. I never want you to forget them, and that's why I had this put together. Oz was your first real love, and Tara was, in many ways, your soul mate. I want to be your endless love. This frame needs one more picture, and I want to fill it with one of me and you on our wedding day...If you'll have me."_

It took Willow several moments to figure out that Xander was talking.

"Buffy doesn't deserve this." Xander said, his head hanging down. He was gripping Anya's hand tightly, using her as his lifeline to sanity. Without her calming presence, he would be going stir crazy right about now

He overheard two of the nurses as they walked by. He heard a vague murmuring of 'gangs' and 'pcp', and shook his head.

_Denial ain't just a river in Egypt anymore_, he thought, and nearly grinned at his extremely bad pun. He really needed some new material. Xander absentmindedly rubbed his thumb against the back of Anya's hand and was reminded of how lucky he really was that she'd forgiven him. It was mostly Buffy and Angel's doing, he supposed. One look at what they had, had made him miss her violently. It had taken begging, pleading, money-well spent, and certain acts in the bedroom that had made him wonder if he would be able to walk afterwards.

Walk he had, down the aisle with her by his side. He'd realized that life gave you gifts every now and then, and you had to cherish them while you had them...one could never know when it would be too late. He was confident now, that he would never become his father. They were two different people, and Anya, well, there was no way she would ever let herself become his mother. His fears had been valid, but for nothing.

Anya sighed, observing her husband out of the corner of her eye. She wondered what he was thinking. He was probably thinking about Buffy, she thought, but they all were at this point, and any jealousy she normally would have wasn't there. Buffy was going through something horrible, and Anya didn't understand it anymore now than she had when Buffy's mother had died. This time, it was her baby...an innocent life that was struggling to exist. Anya didn't understand how the fates could be so cruel to someone who had served them so faithfully.

*

A ringing sound penetrated through Dawn's sleep-fogged brain as she struggled to reach consciousness. She turned her head to find the annoying ringing object and cried out when it sent a sharp pain down her neck. Right, vampire bite.

"Something's ringing." Connor muttered. He too had fallen asleep, she noticed, looking for the offending object.

"I know. It's the phone." Dawn whispered, looking for the phone from her vantage point on the bed.

"Kill it." He ordered sleepily. She grinned at his grumpiness and spotted the phone at the same time. She practically threw herself over him to reach it without leaving the confines of the bed.

If he hadn't been awake before, he was now. Dawn was nearly straddling him as she grabbed the phone, and certain other body parts were clearly awake as a result. She didn't seem to notice as she clicked the talk button on the phone.

"Hello?" She breathed into the handset. The husky sound of her voice sent chills down his spine, and he tempted to-do things he shouldn't be thinking about at the moment, considering she was on the phone and injured. He watched as she talked to the other person on the end of the line and deduced that it must be Willow.

Dawn's face crumpled as she took in what Willow told her. Tears filled her eyes and made her vision go blurry. She finished the phone call numbly, promising to be at the hospital as soon as possible. Connor met her gaze as she hung up the phone.

"What's happened?" He asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Dawn struggled with the words, and he leaned up to slip his arms around her waist. She really was straddling him at this point, but neither one of them were paying attention to that fact.

"Buffy's in labor." Dawn mumbled into his neck, where she had nestled her head. He felt the warm tears dripping onto his collar, and looked toward the heavens. Connor had been so sure that this was just a false alarm. The Powers that Be had done it again. "They're going to make her deliver the baby, Connor." Dawn sobbed into his shoulder.

Neither one of them quiet knew what to say after that. No words of comfort came to Connor's lips, and no words would be comforting to Dawn's ears. He just held her, and she cried.

After a few moments, Dawn pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Willow said that Buffy was asking for me." Dawn told him. He nodded and released her. She disappeared into the bathroom seconds later, and then came out dressed in jeans and a short sleeved turtle neck sweater.

"Ready?" Connor asked, holding out his hand. She took it gratefully, but shook her head in reply. They were silent as she shut her bedroom door behind them.

*

"Did you call Dawn?" Buffy asked through her tears. Willow nodded, trying not to cry herself. It was hard to watch her best friend go through something this agonizing with the real prospect that her child would not survive. It was just too early. She held Buffy's hand, and willed some healing energy into her friends body. It wouldn't stop what was happening, but it might ease some the petite blonde's discomfort. Buffy cried out as a contraction went through her.

Willow's tears spilled over. She couldn't help it. Buffy saw them, and clenched her teeth against the pain. She would not have her friends crying over her. She looked over as she felt someone take her other hand. Angel's somber face met her pain glazed gaze. She couldn't handle the pain in his eyes either.

She fought desperately not to cry out.

She failed.

Why her mother had done this twice-well, once, but she remembered doing it twice-blew her mind. Buffy had never imagined in her wildest dreams that this is what labor would feel like. All three of them were thinking the same thing as she let her scream loose.

It was just too early.

*

Dawn could hear her sister's screams from down the hall. She rushed towards the room, Connor at her heels. She stopped just before the doorway though, as Buffy let out another cry. She took a deep breath, and looked at Connor for reassurance.

She could do this.

She took a step to enter the room but froze when Buffy spoke up.

"Am I being punished, Angel?" Buffy asked, her voice hoarse from her screams.

"No, of course not." Angel denied, his tears spilling over. Dawn hesitated. She didn't want to interrupt this moment between them.

"I am." Buffy sobbed. "I gave up my slayer powers and now they're taking my baby away." She cried.

The world fell out from under Dawn's feet.


	9. Lies

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Lies**

Connor kept her from slumping all the way to the floor, and she clung to him desperately. Thoughts swirled in her brain as she tried to remain upright.

_Buffy wasn't a slayer anymore?_

"How can this be?" She gasped to Connor, who had managed to seat her on a bench in the hallway, a short distance from the door to Buffy's room. Dawn was so distraught she hadn't even noticed him moving her.

"What? The baby?" Connor asked, thinking that she was having her second meltdown since she'd heard that her sister had gone into labor.

"No. Buffy. Sh-sh-she said that sh-she wasn't a s-s-slayer anymore." Dawn stuttered out, staring at him with wide eyes.

"She gave it up, Dawn." Connor tried for soothing. It didn't work.

"You knew?!" She practically shouted. He could see that she was becoming hysterical, and knew that Buffy and his dad could not see her like this. Not only would her memory loss secret come out, but the vampire bite would likely come up as well. Not to mention that his dad and step-mother were dealing with enough already. He gripped her tightly by the arm, whisked her back past an open-mouthed Scooby Gang, put her in the first elevator that arrived, and nearly speed-walked her into the hospital chapel.

"Buffy gave up her slayer powers when she found out she was pregnant. She'd been doing some investigating out near the old vineyard, and found this scythe. Willow used it to pass her powers onto someone else." Connor explained.

"I don't understand why she would do this. She's vulnerable with out them." Dawn was trying to come to terms with it, but she just couldn't seem to grasp what Connor was telling her.

"She did it for the baby." He said gently, pulling her in his arms. She stared up at him.

"A lot of good that did." Dawn's tone was extremely bitter. "The irony is that if she was still the slayer, she'd probably have carried the baby to term...with the slayer healing and all." Dawn's eyes were teary as the news settled in.

"I know this sucks, Dawn." Connor tried to comfort her. She let out a wild, nearly hysterical laugh.

"You don't know anything." She said, her voice having a maniacal edge.

"I do know, Dawn. It's happening to me too." He attempted to reason with her. She broke his embrace, her tears spilling over.

"You have no idea. You don't know what I've done." Dawn whispered.

*

"Of course it's not, Buffy." Willow told her friend. The words washed over Buffy, meaningless. It was her fault, her FAULT that her baby was coming early. She'd reneged on the whole world-saving gig, and now the world was extracting its payment. She clutched her stomach as another contraction hit, fighting the urge to cry out.

"Dawn...Where's Dawn?" Buffy nearly sobbed.

"She'll be here, Buffy." Willow patted the former slayer's hand and shared a worried glance with Angel. "She'll be here."

*

"What you've done? What are you talking about, Dawn?" Connor demanded. Dawn covered her face with her hands.

"Oh, Goddess." She cried out. "This is my fault, Connor. Mine."

"There's no way. These things just happen. The doctor said so." Connor assumed she was having a guilt trip, and attempted to soothe her out of it.

"You don't understand." Dawn refuted.

"Then make me understand, Dawn. That's my littler brother or sister up there." Connor's voice had an edge to it that she hadn't heard since that night they'd jumped off the tower. She wrung her hands. Life was full of defining moments. Dawn supposed this was hers.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be, Connor." Dawn began. He started to speak, but she held up a hand to silence him. "This isn't my world. I did something...foolish, and now everyone I love is paying for it." She told him.

"Dawn, you're starting to sound..." He spoke up again.

"Crazy?" She filled in for him, her laughter slightly hysterical. "Maybe I am crazy. Maybe this is all a dream and I'll wake up." Her tone was melancholy and full of longing. Connor stared at her.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

It was her.

"_This isn't my world. This isn't my world."_

"_When did you start taking Italian? You don't speak Italian."_

"_Goddess, Connor."_

"_You don't speak Italian."_

"_This isn't my world."_

The words echoed around him, the shock slamming into him like a freight train. She was staring at him, a worried expression on her face. He did the first and only thing he could think of.

He kissed her.

*

A clearly upset Willow approached the other members of the Scooby Gang, chewing on her bottom lip. Lindsey noticed her arrival first, and greeted his intended with a comforting hug.

"Dawn's not here?" Willow asked, looking at them.

"She was, but she got upset, so Connor took her somewhere to talk." Xander answered when none of them would.

"I should go find her." She said. "Buffy's asking for her. I'll be back in a bit." Willow told Lindsey, kissing him lightly.

"I'm gonna go visit the Buffster." Xander announced. He headed off towards Buffy's hospital room, while Willow headed for the elevator. The rest of them sat back down, resuming their previous positions.

*

Connor and Dawn broke apart, breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against hers.

"What was that for?" Dawn managed a whisper.

"For being you." He answered.

"Ok, now I'm the one who's confused." Dawn replied, relishing the feel of his hair tangled around her fingertips. He smiled.

"I know." He said, staring into her eyes.

"You know?" She repeated, more confused than before. "You know what?" Dawn continued.

"About you. This isn't your world." Connor told her. "It's not mine either."

*

Willow rounded a corner, and stopped a nurse.

"Hey, have you seen a teenage boy and girl, both brunette, head this way?" She asked the frazzled looking nurse. The nurse gestured towards a door behind her, and continued on her way. Willow headed to the door way, and opened it.

"What?!" Dawn gasped out, more angry than surprised. "It's been you this whole time and you let me go on and on about how I had no memory?" She shouted, outraged. She slapped him on the arm in her anger, causing him to jump back and hold his hands up in surrender.

"How was I supposed to know that you were lying?" Connor defended himself. "I assumed you were the Dawn that I'd known for the last few years." He went on.

"Yeah, explain that one to me." Dawn interrupted what Connor thought was a pretty good defense, and he gave her a look.

"The portal dropped me back in time, to when I arrived back from Quor-toth." Connor answered. "I knew what was going to happen, thanks to that trip through my alternate memories, so I changed everything. I didn't want to become that...thing who dropped my father to the bottom of the ocean, became the father of a goddess or tried to blow up a sporting goods store full of people, myself included." He wound down his long winded recap.

"Is it wrong that I'm really proud of you?" Dawn asked, pulling him back into an embrace, her arms around his neck.

"Well, seeing as how that's part of why this whole mess is occurring, maybe?" He replied, only half-serious. "When I met you after the portal, I kept thinking, it has to be her...er, you. But it wasn't. It was another Dawn, one I hadn't wandered through the dark recesses of my mind with."

"You were all alone." Dawn's voice was teary. "Goddess, Connor. I'm sorry. I should've been there."

"How can you say that?" Connor's tone was incredulous. "We were in the hands of fate. Hell, I was expecting to die, not be transported back in time." He told her with some bitterness at the situation.

"It was my idea to screw up the memory spell by jumping into that portal, Connor. You went along with it, but it was my plan because I couldn't deal." Dawn muttered, angry with herself.

"Well..." Connor said slowly. "I know when I became 'Me'. When did you become you?" He asked.

"When do you think?" Dawn retorted. "A few days ago. On the anniversary of the spell, of course. One minute I was plummeting to my death and the next I was lying in bed, in a house that had previously been demolished, with a human Angel and a pregnant Buffy staring at me like I was two steps from the nut house."

"Oh." Was all Connor replied.

"That's all you have to say?" She demanded, suddenly outraged. He recoiled. What now?

"Uh, I'm sorry?" He questioned. She didn't even grace him with a glare, but looked over his shoulder with that pout of hers he loved so much. He pulled her tighter against him. "I really am sorry. I should have told you about it from the moment I heard the words memory spell." He apologized. He really should have known...he'd be kicking himself for a good long while for not realizing it sooner.

"I feel so guilty, Connor. We caused this. Buffy and Angel would not be in this position if it wasn't for what we did." Dawn lamented, her emotions taking a sudden turn. Connor was having a hard time keeping up.

"I don't know. I think that they're better off in this life." Connor disagreed.

"Better off?" She snapped back. "Buffy is upstairs having a baby, Angel's baby, several months premature without her slayer powers, and you think they're 'better off'?" Connor reeled from the force behind her words as they sank in. "In their other life, they may not have been married Connor, and Angel may not have been human, but at least they were happy. They'd already suffered through the misery and torment that goes along with being a champion and they'd worked past it. Not to mention that Buffy and Angel weren't even together in that life and Buffy was with Spike! How can you say that they're better off?" She was crying again.

"Aw, hell." He murmured, catching her tears with his thumbs and wiping them away. "Don't cry."

"If only there was some way we could go back and fix it. Make it so this never happens." Dawn nearly sobbed. "I don't know what I'll do if I loose her, Connor." Her voice broke mid-sentence and tears came with earnest now. He held her close, rubbed her back soothingly, whispering comforting nothings in her ear. He remembered something his father had once told him, a story about Buffy and reversing time.

"There may be a way." He said, pulling back abruptly to look her in the eye.

"A way to what?" Dawn asked, her voice thick with tears.

"A way to reverse what we've done here." Connor replied, looking almost happy.

"How?" Dawn asked, wanting to know desperately.

"I'll explain on the way." He said, taking her by the arm, and heading towards the door.

*

Willow jumped back into the shadows of the hallway as the two teens headed for the doorway she was standing in. They opened the door and walked away from her. She stared at their retreating backs, one thought reverberating through her mind.

What the Hell?


	10. Feels Like Today

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Feels Like Today**

It was eerie, driving through the nearly deserted streets of nighttime Sunnydale. Dawn pressed her forehead against the passenger side window of the jeep and allowed her mind to wander. The last time she'd driven down this street, she'd been in the back of a small yellow school bus, her forehead pressed to a different window, desperately fearing for her sister's life. It was weird, how no matter what you did to the time line, certain things had a way of repeating themselves. True, Buffy wasn't a Slayer anymore, and true at the moment Dawn was in a speeding jeep and not a bus, but her forehead was still pressed to a pane of glass, and she still desperately feared for her sister's life.

She felt Connor slip his hand into hers as they flew by the 'Now Leaving Sunnydale sign.

Destination: Los Angeles.

*

The occupants in the waiting room cringed collectively as another scream echoed down the hallway. While they doctors hadn't been able to stop the former slayer's labor onset, it was taking a good long while for the next Summers to be born. Each of them would be lost in their own thoughts until a shout or a scream would reach their ears. Then their gazes would meet, lock, and then they would look away. It was the third time they'd repeated this cycled when Willow came rushing into the waiting room. She burst into a rapid babble as she nearly slid to a stop in front of them.

"Willow, Sugar." Lindsey drawled, putting his hands on her shoulders for a calming effect. "Breathe, then talk." She inhaled.

"Dawn and Connor left." Willow began. Everyone reacted at once, and Willow had to hold her hand up to silence their outrage. "I overheard them talking. They were talking about some stuff I didn't understand, and then Dawn mentioned Glory." She continued.

"What about Glory?" Anya interjected. "She's dead."

"Not about her exactly, but about that night." Willow answered. The rest of the group knew exactly what night she was referring too. It was the night they'd almost lost Buffy and Dawn, but some power must have been watching out for them because the portal had closed on it's own. No one had understood how.

"Did Dawn tell Connor what really happened that night?" Xander wanted to know. They had all suspected Dawn had been keeping the real events of that night to herself.

"Sort of." Willow replied. "She mentioned jumping into the portal, Xander."

"What do you mean, jumping in? She didn't jump in." Xander's tone indicated his confusion, and he was the picture of exhaustion.

"Don't attack me or anything for saying this, but what if she did?" Lindsey asked the question that all of them were dreading. Once asked, it meant they had to answer it, and none of them were sure they could...or that they wanted too.

"Let's say, hypothetically, she did." Willow theorized. "How could she of? She's always been there. Always." Her voice cracked at the thought of something terrible happening to Dawn.

"Are you suggesting that bright, beautiful girl we've been helping Buffy raise isn't Dawn?" Xander was angry. He was beyond angry. It was bad enough that one of his best friends was down the hall fighting for the life of her child, but to have that same friend's little sister not be her little sister? It was too much to take in.

"It's possible, Xander." Willow was quiet. She didn't want to think it either.

"No." He uttered one word, met her gaze with anguished eyes. "No. It's not possible. You misunderstood." Willow hugged him.

"Where are Dawn and Connor now?" Lindsey asked, wanting to get the situation straightened out before Buffy and Angel got wind of it. This would be the last thing either of them needed, and somehow, Lindsey was sure he would get blamed.

"They headed out to the parking lot, and then I lost them." Willow was teary now, stepping out of Xander's embrace.

"Did they say where they were going?" Lindsey questioned.

"No, but they did say something else." She answered.

"What?" Anya chimed in, afraid to ask for the first time in her life.

"She was blaming herself, saying that none of this stuff with Buffy would have happened if it wasn't for her. Sh-she said that this wasn't her world...and then Connor said he knew a way to fix it. That's when they took off." Willow finished explaining. Lindsey gathered her close, and Xander wrapped his arms around Anya. A voice speaking from behind them made them all jump.

"Where's Dawn?"

*

She sighed for the millionth time in an hour. Connor spared another glance at her. He knew she was worrying about her sister, and frankly, so was he. If this didn't work...

"Dawn?" He said, getting her attention.

"Yeah?" She replied, not looking at him. He wondered what was so interesting about the dark highway.

"We should be there shortly." He told her. With the speed that he was driving, the normal travel time from Sunnydale to L.A. had been shortened considerably. They had to hurry. There was no telling if they would be able to reverse the things that had happened, but if they couldn't, Dawn would never forgive herself if something happened to Buffy and she wasn't there. She probably wouldn't forgive him either, he realized. That thought spurred him on, and he pressed a little harder down on the accelerator.

Dawn felt the car speed up, and she mentally urged them onward. Time was of the essence. It was a funny thing, Time. It could drag on forever, making some thing undesirable seem to last an eternity. It could fly by with out realization, when something was so interesting you stopped paying attention to it. In situations like this, she was aware of every tick of the clock, but the minute hand kept moving on even as she pleaded with it to slow down.

They fell silent, and the jeep sped on.

*

"Dawn?" Willow squeaked, turning around and coming face to face with Angel.

"Yes, Dawn." He said, sounding impatient. "Buffy's demanding her presence."

"Dawn, Buffy's sister?" Xander asked, sticking his foot in his mouth. Anya elbowed him and he inhaled sharply.

"Yes, Dawn. Buffy's sister. Tall, brunette, about 17 years old." Angel said, looking at each of them like they'd gone crazy.

"Ooh, Dawn." Willow replied, her recognition sounding completely silly.

"Um, yeah, Dawn." Xander chimed in. Angel sighed. He really wanted to hit something.

"She, uh, she..."Willow began.

"She's not here." Anya jumped in, annoyed with their foot in mouth disease. They'd been secret identity people for years and they couldn't come up with a convincing lie on the spot?

"Well, where is she?" Angel was getting impatient.

"She went to get Buffy some flowers. She looked in the gift shop, but they didn't have the ones Buffy likes, so Connor took her to the florist shop." Anya told him, mentally patting herself on the back. Take that! Angel visibly relaxed.

"I'll tell Buffy she'll be here soon, then." He said, turning around and heading back to the petite blonds' room. Xander pulled Anya to him

"Have I told you today that I love you?" He said to her.

"Xander, what are we going to do?" Willow asked, her tone tearful again.

"What we always do. Books all around." He answered, trying to sound confident.

*

The lights of L..A. had been visible for the last fifteen minutes, and Dawn was now twisting anxiously in her seat as they began driving down the streets of L.A.

"What's the plan?" She asked, speaking up. He looked at her, taking his eyes off the road for a minute.

"We're going to a post office." He answered.

"A post office?" She looked confused and upset. He put a hand on her arm.

"Yeah. The Gateway of Lost Souls is underneath it." Connor explained.

"I don't understand." She replied.

"We're going to see the Oracles."

"Oracles?" She wanted to know.

"Mythic creatures that can alter time and space and have a supposed link to the Powers That Be." Connor went on, taking her hand again. He turned a corner and looked at her again. "We're going to ask them to turn back time."

"Do you think they'll do it?" Dawn whispered.

"We'll make them understand..." He trailed off as the jeep plowed into something big and dark in the middle of the road. Dawn screamed and then everything was quiet.


	11. Best of Intentions

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Best of Intentions**

"I grabbed everything I could on dimensions, portals, and for the hell of it, time travel." Lindsey said, out of breath. He had just come back from a trip to the Magic Box to grab books. He handed Willow her laptop. "I'm not sure if you can use it here, but I thought I'd grab it anyway." He told her her. She kissed him on the cheek, and headed towards the nurses station. Lindsey, Xander and Anya stared at each other for a moment.

"I'll take dimensions." Anya offered, breaking the silence. "I know the most about them." She said, picking up a couple books.

"I'll take portals. We can work together." Xander said to Anya, grabbing a few books himself.

"I guess that leaves me with time travel." Lindsey replied without expecting a comment. They shared another look, before settling down and beginning to read.

*

"Goddess, Connor!" Dawn exclaimed, opening her door and jumping out of the jeep. He was seconds behind her, half afraid of what it was they had hit. They crept towards it slowly, both of them aware that whatever it was had the possibility of not being human. As they got closer, it appeared to be a person.

"Oh, man." Connor said, leaning down to check for a pulse. The figure was wearing a long black trench coat, and that's why Connor hadn't see him until it was too late. The body itself was slightly mangled from the force of the car, but appeared to be a man. Connor was praying that whoever it was still alive. He touched the figure's neck, and tears welled up. He looked up at Dawn. "He's dead." Connor managed to croak out. Dawn gasped out a sob and covered her mouth with her hands. What had they done? This trip was supposed fix everything. Now they'd killed someone?

Connor pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. They wore matching expressions, each one feeling lost and helpless, not knowing how to get out of the mess they had created.

"We've got to keep going." Dawn finally said.

"What?" Connor looked at her in shock. "You can't mean that."

"I'm not trying to be heartless, Connor, or undermine what's happened here." Dawn explained. "But we've got to save Buffy and the baby, and we can't do that if we call the cops and report what's happened here."

"You just want to leave him?" Connor cried, incredulous. "Doesn't matter if we kill people, as long as we're doing it in the name of good?" Dawn flinched.

"I'm not saying that! Besides, it didn't stop you in the past." She hissed. He looked like she'd punched him in the gut. Guilt washed over her. Whatever he'd done in the past, he wasn't that Connor anymore. No matter which life he was leading. She touched his arm. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Dawn apologized. "But we're on a deadline here, Connor. I'm sorry that this guy is dead, and I'm sorry that we killed him, but we can't do anything else for him here. He's dead! Buffy isn't, but she might be if we don't fix it!" Dawn nearly shouted at him.

"We can't just leave him here." Connor protested.

"Fine." She said, walking back towards the jeep. "We'll call the cops and tell them where they can find the body on our way to the post office." Connor stared at her, and then at the body before backing away and following. They got back into jeep, and buckled up. Connor looked at her again, wondering when Dawn had become the cold one and he, the one who cared. She picked up her phone and dialed.

"Hi, um, yes, I'd like to report a body..." She trailed off, glancing out the window at the body.

At where the body was supposed to be.

She dropped the phone.

"Connor." Dawn began, her voice high pitched. She pointed to the now empty street. "Where did he go?"

*

Anya threw her book down in disgust. Xander raised his eyebrows over the top of his equally boring and useless book, but didn't say anything. She picked up another one and sighed, wishing that she was at home, with her feet up, eating ice cream and having lots of sex with Xander. Instead, she was here, looking up stuff about dimensional portals while Dawn and Connor were running amok and Buffy was having her baby just a little too soon.

Lindsey, however, was enthralled. He'd never realized how much people had researched time travel. Most of what he had come across was interesting, but didn't really apply to the situation in which they had found themselves. Glancing at his watch quickly, he wished for the thousandth time that Connor and Dawn would make their way back here, even if it was just so that Angel and Buffy could remain clueless. Willow had tried to call Dawn on her cell, but had gotten no answer. Either Dawn wouldn't or couldn't answer. Lindsey hoped it wasn't the latter. He read a few more sentences before stopping short. Re-reading them, he got the attention of Anya and Xander.

"I think I've found something." He said, smiling slowly.

*

They scrambled out of the jeep a second time and headed to where the body had been seconds ago.

"He was dead! You said he was dead!" Dawn shouted, a little hysterical.

"He was dead!" He snapped back at her. They shared a look, and then each of them reached for the hidden stakes they were packing. "He couldn't have gotten far." Connor continued, using his heightened senses. They headed towards an alley, carefully watching the shadows. Connor paused again, searching. "Don't make a sound." He whispered.

The figure in black rushed at them from the shadows, knocking Dawn backwards. Connor grabbed a hold of their attacker at the same time, and the two of them went one over the other as they fought for control. Dawn sat up, took one look, and cried out.

"Spike?" The fighting pair stilled. Dawn rose shakily to her feet, and walked closer. "Spike?" She repeated, gently this time. The man who had managed to come out on top of Connor and was currently choking him met her gaze. He growled, a low and dangerous sound, and then abruptly released Connor. Connor's hand went up to his neck to check out the damage, while Dawn faced Spike.

"I see it now." The blond vampire said, his accent still in place.

"See what?" Dawn said, uneasy. Spike moved towards her slowly. Connor managed to get up and was trying to think of the best way to get Dawn out of there, even if the vampire in front of them was indeed Spike. He hadn't known Spike that well, only seeing him once or twice before the vamp had left town. Sure, there was a resemblance, but still...

"The lights...the spark." Spike replied, inching closer. "Pretty green lights." Dawn froze, all thoughts of moving erased. It was Spike. It seemed an eternity since she'd seem him last. Granted, this Spike seemed nuttier than a loon, but it was Spike nonetheless. He'd stopped dying his hair, and while he still wore the coat, his clothes had obviously seen better days.

"Spike, what happened to you?" Dawn's lip quivered as Connor made his way behind Spike, prepared to do whatever was necessary.

"I found my own spark." He smiled whimsically, before clutching his chest in pain. "It burns."

*

"Ok, you said that Dawn did a memory spell a few days ago, right?" Lindsey double checked. Willow nodded, her expression revealing that she had no clue what that had to do with the current situation. "I think I know what happened. Or, sort of....a wild, slightly hair-brained theory, at least." He continued.

"At this point, I'll take wild and hair-brained over the huge pile of nada we've got here." Xander said, gesturing to the stack of books he and Anya had already looked through.

"Well, it says here that there are some memory spells where if something goes wrong, the fabric of reality can be altered." Lindsey began. "All it would take is someone entering the spell after it had been cast and boom, instant time travel."

"So what exactly are you saying?" Anya asked.

"Memory spells are usually for remembering forgotten memories, and sometimes repressed ones as well. If someone entered the spell while it was in progress, then whatever memory was playing out would no longer be memory...it would be real." Willow answered for Lindsey, catching on.

"So if Dawn cast a spell to alter her memory and something went wrong..." Xander trailed off as they all stared at each other.


	12. Displaced

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Displaced**

With a sudden shriek Dawn lunged at Spike, throwing her arms around his neck.

_Well_, Connor thought. _That's going to make this rescue damn near impossible._

Spike slowly moved to hug her back. After a moment, Dawn pulled away.

"You did it. You really did it anyway." She said, tears in her eyes.

"Dawn, maybe you shouldn't stand so close to him." Connor cautioned, trying to get her out of the way. He didn't trust Spike, and he didn't like the way she was disregarding the potential danger.

"Had to, 'Bit." Spike whispered. "Didn't want to be alone." He chuckled hysterically. "Now I'm never alone." He spoke in a strangled voice.

Dawn's hand reached out towards Spike's chest, and Connor tensed.

"I'm sorry to break up this Kodak moment, but what the hell are you talking about?" Connor asked, startling Dawn into dropping her hand before it reached the blond vampire.

"Don't you get it?" Dawn asked, her eyes never leaving Spike.

"Apparently not, Dawn, or I wouldn't be asking." Connor snarked, trying to squelch his uneasiness at the amount of attention Dawn was giving to Spike. She replied by sticking out her tongue.

"He's got his soul, Connor." Dawn said, after her moment of juvenile behavior had passed. Connor looked at her, disbelieving. She turned Spike around so that they were both facing Connor. "Look. Look at him, at his eyes." Dawn insisted. "He's got his soul."

*

Buffy stared at the doctor as he finished his explanation of her condition. She signed the form in front of her, and handed it back to the doctor, who sighed. Angel re-entered her room, carrying a cup full of ice chips.

"There you are." Buffy said, trying to relieve the awkward silence. "Is Dawn here, yet?"

"Not yet. The gang is still trying to reach her on her cell." Angel answered, staring between her and the doctor.

"Well, Mrs. Angel, I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you. I'll send in a nurse to adjust your i.v." The doctor spoke up, excusing himself.

"I'll be right back." Angel told Buffy, rushing out after the doctor. He nearly ran from her room, and quickly caught up with the doctor. Whirling the man around, he grabbed him by the collar. "What's going on, Doc?" Angel ground out.

The doctor carefully extricated himself from Angel's grasp.

"It's not looking good Mr. Angel." The doctor replied, adjust his mussed lab coat. "I suggest you calm yourself."

"Be more specific." Angel virtually growled.

"She's getting tired." The doctor began, rubbing a hand on his forehead. "She's also started to bleed-we're worried about a possible hemorrhage." He continued.

"Do something about it!" Angel shouted, his voice echoing in the hall.

"She won't let me." The doctor was resigned.

"What are you talking about?" Angel was taken aback.

"I told her that if things keep going the way they are, we'd have to do an emergency D&C." The doctor replied. "She refused that course of action." He explained, waving the form that Buffy had signed only moments ago. "She even went as far as to sign a release." He finished.

Angel could do nothing but stare at him.

"I know that you and your wife thought you'd never have a baby, but please, try to talk some sense in to her before its too late." The doctor advised, before walking away.

Angel slumped down on a near-by bench in shock.

*

Spike cackled suddenly, pointing at Connor and breaking the moment.

"It's the son!" He cried out.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"The son. The son of an Angel and a Devil." Spike continued, laughing gleefully.

"Hey!" Connor replied, offended.

"What's so funny about it?" Dawn wanted to know.

"Nothing." Spike said calmly, before bursting into another round of hysterical laughter.

"Look, Dawn. I hate to break up this touching reunion we've got going on here, but we're running out time." Connor said. "Spike, it's been...real, and I'm sorry I hit you with my jeep, but we're going to go now." He continued, pulling on Dawn's arm.

"We can't just leave him here, Connor. Look at him!" She exclaimed in protest.

"What?" He said, surprised.

"We hit him with the jeep!" Dawn cried.

"He's a vampire! He'll heal!" Connor shouted back.

"That's just like you." Dawn retorted.

"He was just fine while we were fighting, Dawn." Connor pointed out. "Which, by the way, is interesting that he could do that, don't you think? What with his chip and all?" He asked, inwardly smirking at catching her up. He didn't like her attachment to this vamp, no matter if he had a soul.

"The chip..." Dawn trailed off, looking at Spike.

"Fireworks." Spike whispered, demonstrating with his hands.

"That settles it, Dawn." Connor jumped in. "We're leaving him here." He demanded.

"Connor." Dawn protested.

"Look, do you want to help Buffy or babysit Senor Psychopath?" Connor shouted. "We've gotta go now, Dawn."

Spike grabbed Dawn by the shoulders, making her cry out in surprise. Connor's grip tightened on his stake.

"What's wrong with Buffy?" Spike asked, seeming lucid for the first time in the last few minutes.

"She's in trouble. We're trying to fix it." Dawn explained.

"What kind of trouble?" Spike asked intently.

"It would take too long to explain, Spike." Dawn replied sadly.

"How are you going to fix it?" He demanded to know.

"The Oracles." Connor interjected, pulling Dawn from Spike's grasp. "Happy now?" He questioned Spike, taking Dawn by the arm and starting to walk away.

"You don't know what you're doing." Spike laughed sardonically.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Connor sneered.

"Do you have a gift?" Spike asked.

"A gift?" Dawn repeated as if she was hearing it for the first time...which she was.

"Do you know the incantation to get inside the gateway?" Spike demanded.

"Incantation?" Dawn's voice was shrill.

"Do you even know where the bloody hell you're going?" He shouted at them.

"We'll be fine." Connor snarked.

"Not if we can't even get inside, Connor." Dawn pointed out.

"What, I suppose you know the way?" Connor jeered at Spike. A slow smirk spread over the blonde vampire's face, and his gaze drifted towards a manhole cover on the concrete ground of alley.

*

"So if Dawn cast a spell to alter her memory and something went wrong..." Xander trailed off as they all stared at each other.

"Didn't Connor find her unconscious?" Anya double-checked.

"Connor's in on this too, somehow." Willow said. "I'm sure of it."

"What exactly did Dawn say?" Lindsey asked Willow, holding her close.

"She said this wasn't her world...that she wasn't herself until the memory spell." Willow began.

"She asked Connor when he became 'him'. Connor said he was able to change everything." She finished.

"When did he do that?" Lindsey wanted to know.

"When he came out of the portal...from Quor-toth I suppose." Willow said slowly. "Nearly a year after our own portal mysteriously closed without Dawn dying. " She put together.

"Woah." Xander said, stunned.

"This goes back that far?" Anya asked. "To that night with Glory?"

"It makes sense." Willow said. "The memory spell took her back to that night with Glory, and something happened to the spell that inadvertently changed what happened that night.

"So how does Connor fit in?" Lindsey questioned.

"Oooh, I know." Xander began. "He lied about finding Dawn unconscious, and accidentally interrupted her while she was doing the memory spell the other day. Dawn was in the memory of that night and his arrival messed things up." He finished proudly.

"It's a good theory, Xand." Willow said gently. "But not likely." His face fell. "The spell couldn't have been done a few days ago." She pointed out. Three confused faces met her gaze. "This is the product of everything that Connor claims he changed. He couldn't have interrupted the spell here, because this here may not have existed before the spell was cast."

"Woah." Xander said again.

"I'll second that." Anya agreed.

"I guess the big question is...what do we do about it?" Lindsey asked. Willow sighed.

"I think that's where Dawn and Connor are right now." She said, staring off in the distance. "Doing something about it."


	13. This Much I Know Is True

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 13: This Much I Know is True**

They sloshed through the sewers in relative silence. Connor glared at the back of Spike's head, wishing he could off the vamp with just a look. He wasn't sure what it was about him, but something about Spike just rubbed Connor the wrong way. Maybe it was the hair, or the soul. Or maybe it was the way that Dawn was looking him at that very moment. Connor fought back an urge to grab her and drag her off in the other direction, and to find the damn Gateway of Lost Souls by themselves. He shoved his hands in his pockets, one hand wrapping firmly around the stake there. All he needed was a moment...just one moment, and it would be over.

Except Dawn would kill him.

He was trying to understand what the Summers women apparently saw in the vamp, and when Dawn had talked to him about Spike earlier that night...Had it just been a few hours ago? To Connor it seemed as if an eternity had passed since then. Now, though, looking at Spike, he just didn't get it. Not at all.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he was jealous.

Nothing at all.

*

Angel approached Buffy's bed, perched himself next to her on it. She smiled wanly, between contractions. He smoothed her hair back, and the tears that he'd been fighting welled in his as he tried to return her smile.

"You don't have to do this." He whispered. She gripped his hand in hers as another contraction passed over her. Tears coursed down her cheeks and he wiped them away with the thumb of his free hand.

"Yes, I do." She replied when she was able to talk. "You can't choose between us...and you shouldn't have to." Buffy cried.

"I don't want to loose you." Angel choked out.

"You won't...not really." Buffy soothed him.

"I won't let you do this!" He shouted, causing her to let out a sob.

"It's not your decision." She managed to get out, her tongue thick and heavy with emotion.

"The hell it isn't." He refuted, angry. Angry with her, with himself, with the situation. Angry because there weren't any answers, and simple ways of fixing the problem.

"It's my decision, Angel." Buffy chided him. "I've chosen." Her face took on a steely expression, one he hadn't seen since her slayer days. "I'm going to deliver this baby if it's the last thing I do." She promised him.

There was no reason to vocalize that it probably would be, but both of them were thinking it.

*

"I think it's time we tell Buffy and Angel what's going on." Willow said, slowing in her pacing.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Will?" Xander asked, from where he was sprawled next to Anya on one of the lumpy waiting room couches.

"We can't keep pacifying them. Eventually our not being able to locate Dawn is going to get suspicious, if it hasn't already. Buffy needs her sister, and Angel needs his son. We need to be out there looking for them before they go and do something even stupider than what it took to get in this mess. It may not be the reality we were destined for, but that doesn't mean we stop living in it either." Willow sighed after she finished her speech, as Lindsey enveloped her in his arms.

"We'll find away to make it right." He said, rubbing his hands along her arms. "We just need to get through tonight first." Xander finally nodded in agreement, and stood up. He squeezed Anya's hand quickly and let go.

"I'll go get Angel." He said, disappearing down the hall.

*

"Do we have what we need to do the incantation?" Dawn checked with Spike, showing him the contents of her backpack. She'd grabbed several spell supplies and assorted things she'd thought they'd need before she and Connor had peeled out of Sunnydale. She just hoped it was the right ingredients; otherwise there would be yet another delay in trying to fix the mess they'd created.

"Should work, 'bit." Spike answered. He stared off the tunnel in front of them as they walked. "What kind of trouble is Buffy in, Platelet?" He asked.

"I can't really get into, Spike. Just know that the Oracles are the only ones who can make it right." Dawn explained without explaining.

"It must be serious. Blokes only go and see the Oracles when it's something big. Time reversal and all that rot." Dawn's eyes shifted as guilt flooded through her.

"I know. It's big enough that we can't do it ourselves." Dawn was evasive.

"What's up with Boy Wonder?" Spike asked, catching Connor in another glare. Every minute that he talked, Dawn felt like the old Spike was coming back, and the insane vampire they'd met up on the street was slipping away. Goddess, she hoped so.

"I can hear you." Connor muttered from behind them. He'd been strangely silent, but Dawn had been caught up in finding Spike and setting things right that she hadn't noticed, and fell back a little to walk beside her...boyfriend? Smiling at the thought, she linked her arm through his.

"Why so quiet?" She wanted to know, smiling up at him.

"Nothing to say." He was being monosyllabic, and Dawn knew something was up. She stopped in her tracks.

"What's your problem, Connor?" She demanded, exasperated with his mood on top of everything else.

"I don't have a problem, Dawn, except for the one we're trying to fix right now." Connor shot back at her.

"Why are you acting like this?" Her eyes narrowed, and realization settled in. She clapped a hand over her mouth to hide the laughter, but it didn't work.

"What's so funny?" Connor asked angrily.

"Oh my Goddess!" She chortled, staring up at him. Spike stood a little ways down the tunnel, letting the two teenagers have their spat. He wasn't sure he could go round two with the Boy Wonder, and didn't want to get involved unless he had to. "You're jealous!" She cried out.

"I am not!" He vehemently denied.

"You are! You're jealous of Spike!" She exclaimed. "Goddess, it really does run in the family, doesn't it?"

"I am not jealous!" He shouted, echoing through the sewers. He turned away from her and started to walk away. She put her hand on his arm to stop him and he froze.

"Connor, please." She said, her tone urgent. "You don't have to be jealous. Spike is just a friend."

"It looked more than friendly." He mumbled, ashamed that they were having this out in front of Spike. Goddess, if they didn't succeed in turning time back, then the vampire would never let him live this down.

"Connor, when I told you I loved you, I meant it. It's me talking. The Dawn you met in L.A. and went on this crazy time trip with. Not the Dawn you thought hated you all these years in this reality, but me, who fell in love with you the moment you told me my name was pretty." She whispered to him, her voice heavy with emotion. "There's no reason to be jealous. There's no one that I love like I love you." She reassured him. He turned around, pulled her to him and kissed her soundly.

*

Xander found Angel sitting on the bench just outside Buffy's room, head in hands. He didn't say anything, just sat next to the former vampire in silence. Years ago, the animosity between them would have prevented this scene, but Xander had grown up, and Angel wasn't exactly what he'd used to be either.

"If anyone had told me a few years ago that I'd be human, and have not, one, but two children, I'd have laughed so hard I'd have lost my soul." Angel said, breaking the silence.

"Well, if anyone had told me a few years ago that I'd be sitting here beside you, trying to think of the best thing to I could say to make you feel better I'd have laughed until I threw up." Xander admitted.

"Nice one." Angel complimented.

"Thanks, I've been working on it." Xander replied.

"Dawn here yet?" Angel asked, anxious for a distraction.

"No...and that's what I came to tell you about." Xander said.

"Some thing's wrong, isn't it?" Angel confirmed. Xander nodded. Angel surprised the younger man, letting out a sob. "Sorry." Angel apologized. Xander felt awkward, so he just stared at him. "The doctor's pretty sure that if Buffycan deliver the baby, there's a good chance they can save it." Angel said, wiping his eyes.

"That's good news, man." Xander said, smiling. Angel met his gaze. Xander's face fell. "That's not good news?"

"They're not sure that Buffy will survive the delivery." Angel's voice was low. "She's signed a release that no measures are taken to save her life at the expense of the baby's."

"Oh, man." Xander sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything about Dawn...not with this."

"You didn't know." Angel reassured him. He sighed, and stood up. "Let's go see what Dawn and my wayward son have gotten themselves into." Angel said. "I need to get my mind on something else."


	14. We're Off To See The Oracles

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 14: We're Off to See the Oracles**

"Well, as touching as this little snog-fest is..." Spike spoke up, startling Connor and Dawn out of their lip lock. Dawn flushed to the roots of her hair, and Connor shuffled his feet and looked everywhere but the blond vampire.

"Sorry." Dawn apologized. "We'll behave now." She said.

"It's not much farther." Spike said, indicating he was ready to be back on their way.

"Ok." Dawn's voice was meek. Connor had remained silent throughout the whole exchange, but Dawn thought she'd seen a self-satisfied smirk gracing his lips. "Let's go." She took Connor by the hand and the three of them trudged through the sewers once more.

*

"What have Dawn and Connor done this time?" Angel asked, startling his friends. Willow shot a nervous look at Xander, who held his hands up in a not-me gesture.

"Well, it's complicated." Willow began.

"Very." Anya chimed in. "I'm still not sure I understand it."

"You should sit down." Willow urged.

"Just tell me." Angel said.

"Ok, it's like this..." Lindsey began.

*

The phone in Buffy's room rang, and the petite blond snatched it up.

"Dawn?" She said breathlessly into the phone.

"Hi." Dawn replied, shuffling her feet.

"Where are you?" Buffy demanded.

"I'm trying to help, Buffy. I'm going to fix things." Dawn answered.

"Fix things? What are you talking about, Dawn?" Buffy was confused and angry.

"I'm going to make it better, Buffy, I promise. I'm sorry I can't be there." Dawn's voice cracked.

"Dawn, please, forget this crazy idea of yours. I need you." Buffy was crying as well.

"I can't, Buffy, I'm sorry." Dawn apologized. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dawn. Please, don't do anything stupid." Buffy urged.

"I have to make it right. You'll understand...some day." Dawn inhaled a shuddery breath. "Tell Angel that Connor sends his love."

The phone clicked in Buffy's ear, signaling the end of the conversation. Buffy stared at the phone for a few minutes, and then broke down.

*

Angel stared at Willow in shock.

"How is that even possible?" He asked. Willow shrugged helplessly. "So none of this is real, is that what you're telling me?" Angel shouted.

"Angel, keep your voice down." Lindsey cautioned.

"They can't have changed things that much." Angel clung to hope.

"We don't know what they've changed, Angel. All we know is that they're off somewhere, trying to fix the problem." Willow knew that wasn't what the former vampire really wanted to hear.

"You're saying that none of this is supposed to exist? That Buffy and I aren't supposed to be having a baby together?" Angel cried out.

"I'm not saying that." Willow was tearing up at this point. "What I am saying is that if Dawn and Connor succeed in their plan, then this may not exist anymore...period."

"We have to find them." Lindsey chimed in.

"Where would we look?" Xander asked. "Where would you go if you were trying to reverse something like this?"

"The Oracles." Angel answered them. "They went to the Oracles."

"The who?" Xander asked.

"The Oracles." Angel replied. "They're a direct connection to The Powers That Be."

"And you know they would do something like this because...?" Xander wanted to know.

"I just know." Angel said. "We have to stop them."

*

"See, I told you I could get reception down here." Dawn sing-songed to Connor once she'd composed herself. She slipped her cell back into her pack. Connor gave her an annoyed look, followed by a teasing smile.

"Shouldn't we be there by now?" Connor asked, turning his attention to Spike. He still wasn't completely fine with the vampire's presence, but with Dawn's reassurances and the urgency of their mission, he wasn't going to start another fight and delay things.

"Almost." Spike answered, as the trio rounded a corner. Before them was a fork in the sewers.

"Left or right?" Dawn spoke up, adjusting her backpack. Spike hesitated.

"Do you know?" Connor demanded. It just figured, really. All the crap that Spike had given them, HIM, about being unprepared, and the blonde vamp didn't even really know the way. Wonderful.

"Spike?" Dawn moved to stand next to him. "What's up?"

"We're not alone."

*

"How do you propose we do that?" Lindsey asked. "Odds are they're in L.A. by now and they're probably pretty close to their destination."

"We've got to do something, or all this is going to disappear." Angel was grim.

"We don't know that Angel." Willow tried to reassure him.

"Don't we?" Angel answered her. "Why do you think they're trying to changed things on this night? It's because of Buffy and the baby...whatever they're planning on changing is going to affect Buffy and the baby."

Willow opened her mouth to speak, but a voice from behind them beat her to it.

"Mr. Angel, your wife is asking for you." One of the nurses said.

"Thanks, I'll be right there." He replied. "Think. We've got to do something." Angel said, and then disappeared down the hallway.

*

"The incantation is simple." Spike said to Dawn, sounding rushed. He grabbed a pencil and paper from her pack and scribbled it down. "Just put some sage in the urn near the Gateway, light it and say this. The door should open for you." Spike instructed.

"What about you?" Dawn cried out as he shoved the paper in her hands. "What's back there?"

"Just go, Dawn." Spike ordered.

"No, not without you!" Dawn shouted.

"Get her out of here." Spike commanded Connor. Normally, being ordered around would not have made him listen, but something in Spike's voice said that getting Dawn out of here would be the best thing, so he grabbed her hand and began tugging.

"Which way?" Connor asked.

"Right. Now go." Spike's voice was low. He watched the two teenager's as they headed down the tunnel, before turning around with a smirk. "Come and get me." He said into the darkness around him.

*

Angel hurried into Buffy's hospital room. He found her doctor and several nurses in there, looking busy.

"What's going on?" He demanded. Buffy met his gaze and smiled.

"It's time." She said, her eyes watery.

"Time?" Angel was dumbfounded. The doctor approached him.

"We're going to do a C-section. She's consented to that much. If you gown up, you can join us in the O.R." The doctor told him. He looked down at Buffy with a hopeful smile.

"It's time." He said to her, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

*

Dawn and Connor splashed water up around them as they ran, not caring that their shoes and pants were getting soaked. They were almost there. Almost.

Almost.

They skidded to a stop once the sewer opened into a stone-like cavern.

Finally.

Dawn spotted the ceramic urn Spike had mention and reached into her pack.

"Here goes nothing." She said, glancing at Connor. He put his arm around her. Dawn picked up the sage from her backpack with a shaking hand and dumped some in the urn. Lighting it with one of the matches she'd packed, she began speaking the incantation. Once she was done, she glanced at Connor.

Behind them the doorway suddenly glowed to life.

The teens shared another look, and then stepped inside.


	15. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and Angel are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and the WB. Not mine, please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Sacrifice**

Connor and Dawn stumbled to a stop in the middle of a cavern. Each one took in their surroundings, awed by what met their eyes. The cavern was large, with a bluish tint.

"Very Roman." Dawn commented on the architecture, her voice ringing.

"We welcome you, Exalted One." A melodic voice spoke up and got their attention. The voice belonged to a beautiful blond woman, dressed in a toga. Her skin was gold, with the same blue from the walls in curlicues on it. Her companion was male, a little taller, with darker hair. His skin too, was gold with the blue curlicues.

"What do we owe this honor?" The male spoke, bowing before Dawn. Dawn met Connor's gaze, flabbergasted at this strange turn of events.

"We need some help." Connor interjected. The male oracle sneered at him.

"We don't help Lower Beings. Be gone." The male turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Dawn cried out, echoing. "You won't help me because I'm with him?" She asked incredulously.

"It is not the way things are done, Exalted One." The female explained.

"You don't even know what we want." Dawn pleaded with her.

"You think we do not know what goes on among you?" The female was taken aback. "You are The Key, a mystical being that once lived among the heavens. We have taken special interest in what happens to you."

"Then how could you let this happen? How could They?" Dawn demanded, pointing up towards the sky.

"It is not their job to correct your mistakes!" The male oracle shouted.

"I didn't say it was. I'm asking for their help. I've screwed up big time, and there's no other way to make it right." Dawn said, making her case.

"What is it exactly that you wish us to do?" The female questioned, getting a stare in return from her male counterpart.

"We cast a spell," Dawn began, gesturing to herself and Connor. "The spell was interrupted and I changed things. I'd like to go back and make it so I can't change things, so that everything that was supposed to happen in the last few years happens the way it's supposed to."

"This world doesn't please you?" The male oracle was sarcastic, almost biting in his tone.

"It's not about pleasing us. It's about making everything right again." Connor interjected.

"When I want your opinion, Lower Being, I shall ask for it." The male oracle commanded. Connor shot him a dirty look.

"What makes you think we would do something like this, even for you, the Exalted One?" The female oracle asked.

"Because you did it for my father." Connor answered, sneering at both of the oracles.

"The previous Oracles were the ones who granted your father that favor." The male oracle pointed out. "It does you little good to bring that up."

"I brought it up because it can be done. All you have to do is agree." Connor continued.

"It does not matter. It will not be done." The female sounded exasperated.

"Why not?" Dawn asked.

*

"We'll be getting started in a moment, Mr. Angel. Get ready to become a father." The doctor told Angel, giving him a smile.

Angel bent down and kissed Buffy on the forehead.

"For luck." He whispered, gripping her hand in his. "I love you." Angel told her. "I tried not to..."

"...but I couldn't stop." Buffy finished for him. "I love you too." She paused. "I wish Dawn were here."

"The gang's on it. We'll get her here." Angel reassured her.

"I hope so." Buffy smiled. The anesthesiologist covered her mouth with an mask then, and Angel stepped back to let the doctors do their job.

*

"It does not concern you, Exalted One." The female refused to answer. Dawn wasn't having that.

"I'd rather say it does, wouldn't you Connor?" Dawn began. Connor nodded. "After all, it's my family, my friends, my LIFE that I want affected, so I say it damn well concerns me if there is a reason this can't be done!" She shouted at the Oracles. "I want answers. You keep calling me Exalted One, so treat me like it, damn it, and start talking!" Dawn demanded.

"You're time among the lower beings has altered you. You would never deem to act this way before." The female seemed hurt by Dawn's attitude.

"Well, before I didn't inhabit the body of a teenager with all the hormones that go along with it! All I want is one reason why you won't do this for me." Dawn kept going.

"The fate of the world." The male finally uttered.

*

Willow, Lindsey, Xander and Anya all stood nervously in the waiting room.

"He's not going to like this."

"He's really not going to like this."

"He's really, really not going to like this."

"Why do I have to be the one to tell him?"

"Because, Will, you're the one he'll be least likely to get mad at." Xander explained.

"I just hope everything goes all right in there." Willow worried aloud. "If not, I'm not telling him anything."

*

"The fate of the world?" Dawn repeated. "Gee, can you get anymore vague?"

"That is the reason you asked for, Exalted One. We will not help you." The male oracle replied.

"Please, I don't think you understand. I'll do whatever it takes to make this right. If you've been keeping tabs on me, then you know what I've gone through to get here tonight. Please, please, help me." Dawn begged, tears spilling over.

"There may be a way." The female oracle had her head cocked to one side, as if she was listening to a voice no one else could hear. "There will have to be a sacrifice on your part...and both of you need to agree before anything will be done."

Dawn meet Connor's gaze and they smiled.

*

"That's it, that's it. Suction! I need more suction in here!" The doctor shouted orders, his hands full with pulling out the baby. Angel stood helplessly by, growing more and more nervous with every passing moment that they struggled to get the baby out. A beeping noise got his attention, and one of the nurses whispered to the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Angel." the doctor said. "We're going to have to ask you to step outside."

"What's going on?" Angel demanded. No one answered him, but a nurse led him to the door.

"You can watch from here." The nurse said.

"Tell me what's happening." Angel said. The nurse didn't reply, just headed back into the operating room.

*

"It is done then." The female oracle announced. You'll be sent back to the moment where Willow arrives, and this time, go with her."

"Thank you." Dawn said.

"Be well, Exalted One. We'll be watching."

*

"I've lost a pulse!" Angel heard someone shout.

"I've got her!" Someone else cried out, and Angel heard the sound of a baby's wail. He stared before him in disbelief.

"She's bleeding out!" One of nurses exclaimed. The doctor began issuing orders, desperately trying to save her.

"She's in v-tac!" Angel heard as though it was coming through a fog, his eyes never leaving the image in front of him. Moment's later, Buffy's doctor was standing in front of him, a tiny bundle in his arms.

"It's a girl." He said, handing the bundle to Angel. "I'm sorry, but there were complications...I'm afraid your wife didn't make it."

Angel stared down at his daughter's face.

*

Dawn and Connor were visibly shaken as they realized they were back on the platform, staring at her younger self.

"Deja vu." Dawn whispered.

"No heroics this time, Dawn."

"I know that."

Willow appeared behind them, getting their attention, as well as that of younger Dawn.

"Thank the Goddess!" Willow exclaimed. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Please, help me!" Younger Dawn screamed at them. Dawn paused a moment, before looking at Connor and Willow. Before she could change her mind, she grabbed Willow with one hand and Connor with the other.

Younger Dawn blinked. She could've sworn she'd just seen three people standing on the platform before her. Shaking her head, she screamed for help.

"Buffy!"

*

Dawn sat up with a start. The candles around them had gone out.

"Buffy?" She asked, her voice slightly panicked.

"Right here." Buffy answered her. Dawn looked around and saw that Lindsey, Angel, Spike, Buffy and Willow were all there.

Connor moaned as he woke up, getting Dawn's attention.

"Connor!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the boy. "We did it." She said, happy. He pulled out of her embrace.

"Yeah, we're back." Connor said, stepping out of the circle.

"Connor, please, don't be like this. I did what I had to do." Dawn pleaded with him, oblivious to the confused adults.

"I only agreed because this needed be fixed, Dawn. Don't expect me to be a part of it now." He told her, his voice low.

"Connor!" She cried out.

"Connor..."Angel began to admonish. Dawn clapped a hand on her mouth.

"Goddess, I think I'm going to be sick." She said, darting out of the circle and down the hall to Lindsey's bathroom.

"Is that some kind of spell side effect?" Buffy asked Willow, who shook her head.

"Not that I'm aware."

"It's not a side effect" Connor's voice was monotone.

"Well, then what's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"She's pregnant."


End file.
